Comparing face-to-face vs. online working memory tests: Letter Number Sequencing and Running Span

MARRUJO, JONATHAN GABRIEL; MARTÍNEZ, MAGALÍ AYELÉN; GONZALEZ, FEDERICO MARTIN; BARREYRO, JUAN PABLO; BURIN, DÉBORA I.

Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires

Encuentro; Encuentro SAN2022; 2022

Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Neurociencias (SAN)

Online and remote studies are increasing in neurocognitive research, due to its cost-effectiveness, participant reach, and other advantages in data collection. Working memory (WM) is a limited capacity cognitive system in charge of temporal maintenance and active processing, supporting complex cognitive tasks. We report two studies comparing the face-to-face version and their online adapted versions, of two verbal working memory tests, Letter-Number Sequencing (LNS) and Running Span (RS). Four first year psychology students’ samples completed LNS (N = 234) or RS (N = 106) in face-to-face small groups, and LNS (N = 115) or RS (N = 251) online. LNS was implemented in synchronic Zoom sessions with small groups, and Quizzit; RS was implemented with PsyToolkit 3.3.2 and tested asynchronously. Reliability was adequate for both (DNS α Cronbach = .78, CI95 [.72 - .85]; RS α Cronbach = .81, CI95% [.78 - .84]. For both, difficulty increased as a function of item and set size. However, for LNS, data needed more cleaning, and discrepancies between original and online testing for initial and final items’ distribution were observed. In conclusion, remote, online WM tests require careful implementation and psychometric analyses before using them for neurocognitive research.