Abstract

INJOQUE-RICLE, Irene et al. Mechanical reasoning, working memory and processing speed. liber. [online]. 2019, vol.25, n.1, pp.71-84. ISSN 1729-4827.  http://dx.doi.org/10.24265/liberabit.2019.v25n1.06.

Background: mechanical reasoning (MR) is the ability to identify the components of a system and understand how they interact in order for the system to work. Different mechanical systems, such as those of wheels and gears, require different types of reasoning. Objective: this study seeks to analyze the relationship that working memory (WM) and processing speed (PS) have with MR. Method: one hundred seventy-three (173) university students were assessed through the DAT test which consisted of 30 MR problems, the symbol search subtest of the WAIS-III battery for assessing the PS, and the BIMET-V and BIMET-VE batteries to evaluate the WM verbal and visuospatial components. Results: regression analyses showed that the proposed variables do not predict the performance in gear problems, while the visuospatial WM and the PS predict the performance in wheel problems. Discussion: the results suggest that gear problems have a low executive demand as they can be solved in a fractional way, while wheel problems require to hold in memory all the components that are part of the system and, at the same time, require a higher attentional load.

Keywords : mechanical reasoning; working memory; short-term memory; processing speed.

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