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This project examines the influence of semantic and phonological representations on the maintenance of information in working memory (WM). Pioneering studies have emphasized the importance of phonological representations for the maintenance of information in verbal working memory (e.g., Baddeley et al., 1986; Baddeley & Hitch, 1974). However, more recent studies have accumulated evidence supporting a crucial contribution of semantic representations (Kowialiewski et al., 2021; Meltzer et al., 2016; Nishiyama, 2014, 2018; Pham & Archibald, 2023). Despite this consensus regarding the involvement of both phonological and semantic representations, their role in maintaining information in working memory is far from fully understood.

The aim of this study is to shed light on this question by specifically examining two unresolved aspects. First, we investigate the role these representations play in maintaining connections in MDT (Bartsch & Shepherdson, 2023; Kowialiewski et al., 2023; Oberauer, 2019). Second, this project aims to examine the extent to which the activation of phonological and semantic representations modulates the decline in MDT performance typically observed during cognitive aging (Bopp & Verhaeghen, 2005; Naveh-Benjamin & Cowan, 2023). Indeed, significant contradictions have emerged regarding older adults’ ability to spontaneously and effectively employ strategies based on their semantic knowledge. On the one hand, some research has highlighted difficulties for older adults in effectively mobilizing such strategies (Bartsch et al., 2019; Dunlosky & Hertzog, 2001; Smith, 1980). Conversely, other studies have revealed that the use of semantic representations could improve older adults’ memory performance, to the point of eliminating performance differences between young adults and older adults (Badham & Maylor, 2015; Jarjat & Plancher, 2020; Loaiza & Srokova, 2020; Mohanty et al., 2016).

With this in mind, this project will involve presenting a computerized MDT task (complex span task; Conway et al., 2005) to young adults and older adults. This task will involve alternating between phases of memorizing word pairs and distractor phases. To manipulate the availability of phonological and semantic representations for word pair retention, the distractor task will consist of semantic or phonological judgments on distractor words. Additionally, the stimuli to be memorized will be pairs of concrete or abstract words. We will examine the impact of these manipulations on word pair recognition performance during immediate (MDT) and delayed (MLT) recognition phases.