Non-verbal intelligence outperforms selective attention in a visual short-term memory test

Luis Anunciação; Anna Portugal; Ivan Rabelo; J Landeira-Fernandez

doi:10.1186/s41155-021-00200-0

Non-verbal intelligence outperforms selective attention in a visual short-term memory test

Psicol Reflex Crit. 2021 Nov 16;34(1):35. doi: 10.1186/s41155-021-00200-0.

Authors

Luis Anunciação¹, Anna Portugal², Ivan Rabelo³, J Landeira-Fernandez⁴

Affiliations

¹ Psychometrics and Applied Statistics, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. luisfca@puc-rio.b.
² Psychological Assessment, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
³ Psychological Assessment, São Paulo University, São Paulo, Brazil.
⁴ Experimental Psychology, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.

Abstract

Short-term memory is a dynamic psychological process that operates within a network in which non-verbal intelligence and attentional domains are connected. However, no consensus has been reached about which process has the greatest effect on this memory ability, which was the main objective of the present study. A sample of 1448 Brazilian participants (mean age = 26.62 years, standard deviation = 9.97 years; 53.9% females) were collectively tested on pen-and-paper standardized and validated measures of selective (ROTAS-C), alternating (ROTAS-A), and divided (ROTAS-D) attention. They also performed the R1 Non-verbal Intelligence Test and a visual short-term memory test (Memória Visual de Curto Prazo [MEMORE] test). The statistical analyses consisted of a data mining procedure, in which exhaustive automatic selection screening was performed. The results were compared with Corrected Akaike Information Criteria. The linear model met the classic assumptions of ordinary least squares and only included main effects of selective attention (standardized β = 0.39) and non-verbal intelligence (standardized β = 0.37) as main predictors (F_2,39 = 7.01, p < 0.01, adjusted R² = 24%). The results are discussed within a cognitive psychology framework.

Keywords: Attention; Cognitive neuroscience; Intelligence; Psychometrics; Short-term memory.