Future Research Directions

Now that The VAM application has been shown to be a reliable, validated computer based test of audio and visual Working Memory, it opens up a wide range of

possibilities for future work in the area. Over the last three chapters, several possible research directions for the VAM application were discussed in detail. In this section, those suggestions are reviewed along with some further suggestions for future research

In Chapter 6, the role of the VAM application as a diagnostic tool was discussed. This discussion focused on identifying long-term Working Memory impairments caused

by conditions like ADHD and Alzheimer’s and short-term impairments caused by

fatigue. Due to the detailed nature of the results it produces and its ability to be completed without direct supervision, the VAM can be used to keep track of changes in a single person’s Working Memory capacity over a protracted period of time. This could be extremely useful in studies focusing on the cognitive decline of patients with Alzheimer’s where the VAM could help identify any downward trend.

Similarly, because the VAM is ideally suited to testing multiple candidates at once, the VAM can be used in studies that focus on investigating the Working Memory capacity of different populations. In particular, large groups of children or elderly candidates can be quickly and easily examined to build a central database of results across different age-groups. By identifying a standard level of performance for a particular population, severe deviations from that standard will be noticeable enough to help identify candidates in need of further examination.

In Chapter 7, the emerging cognitive training industry was discussed. There is still a lot of controversy over the effectiveness of cognitive training with criticism often focusing on the methods used to identify improvements in cognitive processing. The VAM is a freely available, quick and easy method of assessing Working Memory. It is therefore ideally suited for use in disparate studies on cognitive training. If

Working Memory, the results obtained will be much easier to compare. Any explicit changes caused by different cognitive training systems will also stand out.

In Chapter 8, the concept of e-learning was explored. Because the VAM makes use of common forms of stimulus like letters and images, it can be of use in studies relating to how these different forms of media affect the learning capacity of different people. Similarly, the emergence of Adaptive Educational Hypermedia means the VAM can be used as a tool to actually adapt courses to focus on a style that suits a particular

user’s Working Memory. Recent studies in the area such as Tsianos et al [2010] have

had problems locating suitable audio and visual Working Memory tests for this task. The VAM application could provide a solution to this situation.

All of the above suggestions focus on using of the VAM application as a tool in other studies, but there is also plenty of research to be done on improving the VAM

application itself. Currently, the VAM focuses on audio and visual Working Memory.

In Baddeley’s model, the visuospatial sketchpad is not only concerned with

processing imagery, but also with spatial relations. In future incarnations the VAM could be expanded to explore the spatial component of Working Memory, although this would be difficult without varying from the homogenous nature of the current tests.

Similarly, the images chosen for the test were designed to be easily identifiable and so susceptible to phonological recoding. A case could be made that in order to fully explore visual Working Memory, the ability to use phonological cues to remember images should be removed. As explained in Chapter 3, this can be achieved with articulatory suppression, which denies the candidate the ability to subvocalize and rehearse audio cues. This process is not built into the VAM application though and relies on the candidate to suppress his/her own subvocalization. Perhaps future versions of the VAM could include a subtest dedicated to visual stimuli that can’t be easily vocalised, such as random patterns.

One of the greatest advantages offered by the VAM application is that it is freely available, can be used in a variety of different areas related to Working Memory and has massive potential for future growth in terms of functionality. The VAM

application itself is the most important contribution offered by this thesis. It is hoped that the VAM can become a new standard for testing Working Memory.

As previously explained, the study of Working Memory can impact a number of different research areas and there is a real need for a standardised measurement tool that can produce readily comparable results across a number of different studies. The VAM application can fill this need. The VAM is also particularly important to small studies that cannot afford to purchase the often prohibitively expensive

Working Memory tests that are currently available. It is also hoped that the VAM will encourage others to design and implement their own Working Memory tests so that the usefulness of independent computer based tests will become more widely known.

In order for this to occur though, the VAM itself must first become more widely publicised. The first step in this direction will be to publish journal papers on the VAM itself and its potential for computer based testing. The main journal of interest here will be the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory & Cognition. There are also several journals of Educational Psychology and journals of Cognitive Psychology that may also be interested.

The next step will be to update the VAM itself. As previously explained, the VAM application is currently implemented in Authorware, a language that has

unfortunately been discontinued. A new version of the VAM would ideally be implemented in a relatively recent and growing language such as HTML 5. The new VAM will continue to be freely available both as a finished product and as an open source development platform for future tests of Working Memory.