Abstract: 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.

Key words: working memory, retest effects, spatial working memory and attention test on paired symbols (SWAPS), memory load

摘要： 工作记忆是支持目标导向行为和复杂思维的核心认知功能。我们使用一个基于符号配对的注意力与空间工作记忆范式（SWAPS）进行了重复性的认知测试，这个范式是用于认知心理学、教育和精神病学研究的有效工具。重复进行工作记忆能力测试在临床上以及认知环境研究中很常见，研究表明，重复的认知测试可能因为“重测效应”导致认知测试成绩提高，因此在SWAPS中系统的研究“重测效应”对于解释研究结果至关重要，但是目前仍缺少该领域的研究成果。为了解决这个问题，我们招募了77名18~21岁的大学生进行了包括72次不同记忆负荷、学习时间和延迟时间的“重测效应”试验，我们每周一次重复测试，为期五周，以调查SWAPS的“重测效应”。研究发现在前两次测试中测试的准确性显著提高，然后在接下来的SWAPS实验中趋于稳定。这些发现将为研究人员正确使用或解释重复性的工作记忆测试提供有用的信息，目前仍然需要进一步的实验来阐明介导和影响“重测效应”的因素和其中的认知机制。

关键词: 工作记忆，重测效应，注意力与空间工作记忆范式，记忆负荷