In 2 experiments the authors examined whether individual differences in wor
king-memory (WM) capacity are related to attentional control. Experiment 1
tested high- and low-WM-span (high-span and low-span) participants in a pro
saccade task, in which a visual cue appeared in the same location as a subs
equent to-be-identified target letter, and in an antisaccade task, in which
a target appeared opposite the cued location. Span groups identified targe
ts equally well in the prosaccade task, reflecting equivalence in automatic
orienting. However, low-span participants were slower and less accurate th
an high-span participants in the antisaccade task, reflecting differences i
n attentional control. Experiment 2 measured eye movements across a long an
tisaccade session. Low-span participants made slower and more erroneous sac
cades than did high-span participants. In both experiments, low-span partic
ipants performed poorly when task switching from antisaccade to prosaccade
blocks. The findings support a controlled-attention view of WM capacity.