The impact of spatial and verbal working memory load on semantic relatedness judgements

Khanzhyn, Dmytro; van Heuven, Walter J B; Rataj, Karolina

Abstract

Studies using a relatedness judgement task have found differences between prime-target word pairs that vary in the degree of semantic relatedness. However, the influence of working memory load on semantic processing in this task and the role of the type of working memory task have not yet been investigated. The present study therefore investigated for the first time the effect of working memory load (low vs. high) and working memory type (verbal vs. spatial) on semantic relatedness judgements. Semantically strongly related (e.g., hip – KNEE), weakly related (e.g., muscle – KNEE) and unrelated (e.g., office – KNEE) Polish word pairs were presented in an experiment involving a dual working memory and semantic relatedness task. The data revealed that, relative to semantically unrelated word pairs, responses were faster for strongly related pairs but slower for weakly related pairs. Importantly, the verbal working memory task decreased facilitation for strongly related pairs and increased inhibition for weakly related pairs relative to the spatial working memory task. Furthermore, working memory load impacted only weakly related pairs in the verbal but not in the spatial working memory task. These results show that working memory type and load influence semantic relatedness judgements, but the direction and size of the impact depend on the strength of semantic relations.

Citation

Khanzhyn, D., van Heuven, W. J. B., & Rataj, K. (2024). The impact of spatial and verbal working memory load on semantic relatedness judgements. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 31, 781-789. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-023-02323-0

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 13, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Sep 18, 2023
• Publication Date: 2024-04
• Deposit Date: Aug 25, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 19, 2024
• Journal: Psychonomic Bulletin and Review
• Print ISSN: 1069-9384
• Electronic ISSN: 1531-5320
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 31
• Pages: 781-789
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-023-02323-0
• Keywords: Semantic relatedness; Verbal working memory; Spatial working memory, Working memory load
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/24584523
• Publisher URL: https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13423-023-02323-0