Individual differences

Individuals vary in their ability to focus attention on, and work with, the most relevant task information while successfully ignoring less relevant information. Working memory is one cognitive construct that has been used to capture such differences. This line of work explores (a) differences in the strategies individuals lower and higher in working memory use to solve complex problems ranging from categorization to math and (b) how individual differences in working memory and executive functioning more broadly interact with high-stress situations to impact performance. It turns out that sometimes less is better than more.

Select Relevant Publications:

Lyons, I., & Beilock, S.L. (2009). Beyond quantity: Individual differences in working memory and the ordinal understanding of numerical symbols. Cognition, 113, 189-204. (pdf)

DeCaro, M. S., Thomas, R., & Beilock, S. L. (2008). Working memory capacity and category learning: Sometimes less is more. Cognition, 107, 284-294. (pdf)

Sibley, B. A. & Beilock, S. L. (2007). Exercise and working memory: An individual differences investigation. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 29, 783-791. (pdf)

DeCaro, M. S., & Wieth, M., & Beilock, S. L. (2007). Methodologies for examining problem solving success and failure. Methods, 42, 58-67. (pdf)

Beilock, S. L., & Carr, T. H. (2005). When high-powered people fail: Working memory and “choking under pressure” in math. Psychological Science, 16, 101-105. (pdf)