Reasoning=working memory≠attention

The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between attention, components of working memory, and reasoning. Therefore, twenty working memory tests, two attention tests, and nine intelligence subtests were administered to 135 students. Using structural equation modeling, we were able to replicate a functional model of working memory proposed by Oberauer, Suess, Wilhelm, and Wittmann (2003) [Oberauer, K., Suess, H.-M., Wilhelm, O., & Wittmann, W. W. (2003). The multiple faces of working memory: Storage, processing, supervision, and coordination. Intelligence, 31, 167-193]. The study also revealed a weak to moderate relationship between the “selectivity aspect of attention” and working memory components as well as the finding that “supervision” was only moderately related to “storage in the context of processing” and to “coordination”. No significant path was found from attention to reasoning. Reasoning could be significantly predicted by “storage in the context of processing” and “coordination”. All in all, 95% of reasoning variance could be explained. Controlling for speed variance, the correlation between working memory components and intelligence did not decrease significantly.