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    HighIQ Offline OP
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    I recently did a mock WAIS-IV digit span test on https://tools.timodenk.com/digit-span-test, and I was able to memorize up to 9 digits missing one at 7 digits and one at 9 digits, 8 digits backwards missing one at 6 digits and one at 8 digits, 8 digits ordered missing both at 8 digits. I think that my lack of academic success and respect from others is the result of having a poor memory.

    I also did terribly on letter-number sequencing stopping at 6 letters/numbers. I took the human benchmark memory tests a couple of months ago and got 100 percentile on the sequence memory (score of 67), number memory (score of 20 with the use of mnemonics), verbal memory (556), chimp test (31), visual memory (20). Basically at the 100th percentile, yet I can't score that high on the WAIS-IV digit span tests.

    I think that I would ace all of the other sections of the WAIS-IV with perfect scores in all of the subtests, but not in working memory. I would always forget what I just learned, and I would have to go reread the material over and over to have it stick to my memory, which is a waste of time.

    Last edited by HighIQ; 03/01/21 04:10 PM.
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    aeh Offline
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    I think you may be misunderstanding the way the norms for these work. Is this an accurate representation of your recent digit span exercise?

    digits forward:
    both items correct at all sets up to six digits
    one item correct at seven digits
    both items correct at eight digits
    one item correct at nine digits.

    digits backward:
    both correct up to 5 digits
    one correct/one incorrect at 6
    both correct at 7
    one correct/one incorrect at 8

    digits sequenced:
    both correct up to 7 digits
    both incorrect at 8.

    If so, there are two important points, without even getting into what your normative score would be had this been a real WAIS:
    1. You did not reach a personal ceiling on digits forward or digits backward, and, in fact, ran into the hard ceiling of the test.
    2. The average adult reaches a ceiling at 7 digits forward, and fewer than that backward (5) and sequenced (6), which actually means that they get both seven-digit items incorrect. Letter-number-sequencing is similar to DSS, but slightly harder, since there are two layers of sequencing needed (average more like 5).

    Takeaways: nothing about this faux WAIS digit span contradicts any of your other data on working memory. I don't think you've presented any data that would suggest concerns with your intrinsic working memory. Worrying about it is likely to be the biggest impediment to performance.

    And re-reading is not a waste of time, especially if it's what allows an individual to exercise their significant higher-level thinking skills. It's a strategy, of which we all need many to be our best selves.


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    HighIQ Offline OP
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    I have seen a study in 2000 that shows the average forward digit span, around 12-13, of its undergraduate sample from an Australian university, and this has only made me even more worried about my working memory. I did beat them by a lot on the two processing speed tests from WAIS.

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    Originally Posted by HighIQ
    I have seen a study in 2000 that shows the average forward digit span, around 12-13, of its undergraduate sample from an Australian university, and this has only made me even more worried about my working memory. I did beat them by a lot on the two processing speed tests from WAIS.


    I am fascinated to see this study! Do you have a link?

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    Free pdf of same article:
    https://www.researchgate.net/public...sk_Measure_Anything_More_Than_Digit_Span

    A few more points:
    1. The study sample in the cited article was relatively modest (100 adults).
    2. The study sample was not representative of the adult population, as they were mostly young, and mostly university students, who generally are above average. IOW, a convenience sample.
    3. The scores reported for Digit Span are not the length of the longest span recited accurately, but the raw scores of the tasks, which, again, are administered in pairs, and don't necessarily increment one span unit at each item set, or start with the span length you expect.

    The data seem fairly consistent with what I have already presented upthread, regarding the mean span length of adults, with perhaps a slight bias upward because of the study population. They actually did very slightly worse than would have been expected on digits backward--but then, it was a small data set, so that could have been chance variation based on the specific participants, and regardless, their mean scores were in the average range.

    Interpreting neuropsychological research does require a little bit of field-specific background knowledge, so do be cautious about leaping to any conclusions based on a raw reading of a single journal article.


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    HighIQ Offline OP
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    I forgot about the pairs. I was panicking for no reason. Thank you.

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    My pleasure.


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    Thanks for the link, and I am so glad these concerns have been resolved. I have a friend with extraordinarily good WM, stories about which I am not going share here. I am always intrigued by exceptionally good WM, certainly no-one in my family has it! I can say there is a clear pattern of heritance in both mine and my friend's family with regard to WM.


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