Processing and storage in working memory span

Two experiments are reported that address theoretical assumptions as to the nature of working memory involved in working memory span tasks (Daneman & Carpenter, 1980). Experiment 1 used a version of the sentence span task, an d Experiment 2 combined arithmetic verification with recall of presented wo rds. In each experiment, working memory processing span was assessed indepe ndently of temporary storage span prior to their combination. Combined task performance under high demand for each component resulted in substantial r esidual performance for both task elements, particularly in Experiment 2. T he results do not challenge the utility of the sentence span task as a meas ure of on-line cognition, but they raise concerns as to how resource might be allocated to processing and storage elements of the task within a single flexible resource pool, or between different resources of a multiple compo nent working memory system. Although both models lack predictive power rega rding resource allocation in these tasks, the multiple resource model appea rs to offer the better account.