Working memory is an essential mechanism in the cognitive learning process. However, its definitions and mechanisms remain a topic of debate. Miller-Cotto and Byrnes (Journal of Educational Psychology, 112(5), 1074–1084, 2020) reported a comparison of three models of working memory to determine which best accounted for data obtained from a national US dataset of young children over time (Early Childhood Longitudinal Study of Kindergarten). In comparing these models, which they derived from competing theories of working memory, they found that (1) one of the tested models best fit the available data and (2) the model parameters were similar across content domains, concluding that one specific theory of working memory was best supported. The study reported here is an attempted replication of this work. We implemented a multi-phase effort at replication, first undertaking a review of the literature surrounding competing theories of working memory to aid interpretation of results, then attempting a direct replication, and lastly applying an alternative modeling technique to appropriately differentiate between between- and within-person variance. Neither effort succeeded in fully replicating the original findings. Instead, we found that parsing between- and within-person variance is an essential strategy for appropriately interpreting the relationships between working memory and domain learning. Doing so led to support for different models across domains, and interpretation of aspects of these models through the lens of relevant theory suggested alternative strategies for examining these issues in future research.

工作记忆是认知学习过程中的重要机制。但是，其定义和机制仍然是争论的话题。Miller-Cotto和Byrnes（教育心理学杂志，112（5），1074–1084，2020）报告了三种工作记忆模型的比较，以确定哪种模型最能说明一段时间以来从美国全国幼儿数据集中获得的数据（幼儿园早期儿童纵向研究）。在比较这些模型时，他们从竞争性工作记忆理论中得出了结论，他们发现（1）一种经过测试的模型最适合可用数据，并且（2）各个内容领域的模型参数相似，从而得出结论，一种特定的理论最好地支持工作记忆。这里报道的研究是这项工作的尝试复制。我们实施了一个多阶段的复制工作，首先对有关工作记忆竞争理论的文献进行综述，以帮助解释结果，然后尝试直接复制，最后应用另一种建模技术来适当地区分人与人之间的差异。两种努力都没有成功地完全复制原始发现。取而代之的是，我们发现解析人与人之间的差异是适当解释工作记忆与领域学习之间关系的重要策略。这样做导致跨领域支持不同的模型，并且通过相关理论的角度对这些模型的各个方面进行解释，提出了在未来研究中研究这些问题的替代策略。我们发现，解析人与人之间的差异是适当解释工作记忆与领域学习之间关系的重要策略。这样做导致跨领域支持不同的模型，并且通过相关理论的角度对这些模型的各个方面进行解释，提出了在未来研究中研究这些问题的替代策略。我们发现，解析人与人之间的差异是适当解释工作记忆与领域学习之间关系的重要策略。这样做导致跨领域支持不同的模型，并且通过相关理论的角度对这些模型的各个方面进行解释，提出了在未来研究中研究这些问题的替代策略。