Significant Retest Effects in Spatial Working Memory Task

Working memory is a core cognitive function that supports goal-directed behavior and complex thought. We developed a spatial working memory and attention test on paired symbols (SWAPS) which has been proved to be a useful and valid tool for spatial working memory and attention studies in the fields of cognitive psychology, education, and psychiatry. The repeated administration of working memory capacity tests is common in clinical and research settings. Studies suggest that repeated cognitive tests may improve the performance scores also known as retest effects. The systematic investigation of retest effects in SWAPS is critical for interpreting scientific results, but it is still not fully developed. To address this, we recruited 77 college students aged 18–21 years and used SWAPS comprising 72 trials with different memory loads, learning time, and delay span. We repeated the test once a week for five weeks to investigate the retest effects of SWAPS. There were significant retest effects in the first two tests: the accuracy of the SWAPS tests significantly increased, and then stabilized. These findings provide useful information for researchers to appropriately use or interpret the repeated working memory tests. Further experiments are still needed to clarify the factors that mediate the retest effects, and find out the cognitive mechanism that influences the retest effects.