Working-memory capacity explains reasoning ability - and a little bit more

Working-memory capacity is conceptually differentiated according to functions and contents. The resulting two-faceted structure parallels the structure of intellectual abilities in the Berlin Intelligence Structure Model (BIS) [Diagnostica 28 (1982) 195.]. A battery of 17 working-memory tasks, chosen to represent the proposed facet structure of working memory, was administered together with a test for the BIS to 128 young adults. General working-memory capacity was highly related to general intelligence. The prediction of intellectual abilities by working-memory capacity was also tested by differentiating predictor and criterion according to the functional and to the content facet. Moreover, the paths from working memory to intelligence factors appear to be highly specific. This suggests that specific working-memory resources, as opposed to a general capacity, are the limiting factors for their corresponding counterparts in the structure of mental abilities. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.