A latent variable analysis of working memory and reading comprehension: examining the role of attention control and long-term memory retrieval in comprehension performance

Working memory consistently predicts reading comprehension; however, the mechanisms underlying this relationship are still poorly understood. While many researchers have argued that short-term attentional processing is the defining factor, there is evidence to suggest that the ability to retrieve information from long-term memory may be just as important. The current study investigated the relationship between working memory and reading comprehension and the specific control processes that underlie this relationship using latent variable analysis. Multiple measures of working memory capacity, attention control, long-term memory retrieval, and reading comprehension were employed to create latent factors of each construct. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling revealed that it was long-term memory retrieval, and not attention control, that predicted variance in reading comprehension performance. Furthermore, a sub-group analysis confirmed that reading comprehension is almost exclusively dependent on the ability to retrieve information successfully from long-term memory, with little contribution from attention control abilities.