Handwriting and working memory : the role of memory and other cognitive factors in the performance of psychomotor skills such as handwriting and drawing

Working memory (WM) and handwriting use common resources, and when performed concurrently WM performance can suffer. In this dissertation, I explore how handwriting reduces WM performance. I uniquely investigate how the components of handwriting (verbal, motor) contribute to a reduction in WM. The general methodology utilised a verbal serial recall task with words recalled after listening to word lists with no concurrent secondary task, or listening to the words while simultaneously performing handwriting, nonverbal pseudo-handwriting or drawing movements. My key finding is that the motor component of handwriting reduces WM performance with little additional reduction due to the verbal component.