Intraindividual Variability and Level of Performance in Four Visuo-Spatial Working Memory Tasks
Abstract
Intraindividual variability and level of performance in accuracy of four visuo-spatial working memory tasks were examined in sixty-two young adults. The objective was to study the relationships between intraindividual variability and level of performance and to assess whether intraindividual variability is a useful marker of cognitive functioning. Correlational and factor analyses were performed. Confirmatory factor analyses rejected a two-factor representation, with a first factor representing level of performance and a second factor representing intraindividual variability. The best fitting model specified one factor per task and estimated significant within-task correlations of intraindividual variability residual scores. Overall, these findings are consistent with the view that performance variability provides valuable information independent of level of performance and different from noise.
References
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