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Series Editor
BRIAN H. ROSS
Beckman Institute and Department of Psychology
University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois
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Anne E. Cook
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Michael D. Dodd
University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, United States
Fernanda Ferreira
University of California, Davis, CA, United States
John R. Hibbing
Nate Kornell
Williams College, Williamstown, MA, United States
Lee Nevo Lamprey
University of California, Berkeley, CA, United States
Matthew W. Lowder
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Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, United States
Edward J. O’Brien
University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, United States
Michael Andrew Ranney
University of California, Berkeley, CA, United States
Kevin B. Smith
Nash Unsworth
University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States
Kalif E. Vaughn
Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY, United States
Michael R. Waldmann
University of G€
ottingen, G€
ottingen, Germany
ix j
CHAPTER ONE
The Many Facets of Individual

Differences in Working Memory
Capacity
Nash Unsworth
University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States
E-mail: nashu@uoregon.edu
Contents
1. Introduction 2
2. Importance of Working Memory 2
3. A Theoretical Framework for Working Memory Capacity 5
4. Multiple Facets Influence Individual Differences in Working Memory Capacity 7
4.1 Capacity of Primary Memory 7
4.2 Attention Control 16
4.3 Secondary Memory 25
5. Measurement of Working Memory Capacity 32
6. Heterogeneity of Working Memory Capacity Limitations 36
7. Conclusions 37
References 37
Abstract
This chapter reviews prior research and our current thinking on individual differences in
working memory capacity (WMC), the nature of WMC limitations, and the relation
between WMC and higher-order cognition (in particular fluid intelligence). Evidence
is reviewed suggesting that individual differences in WMC arise from multiple different
facets. These facets include differences in the capacity of primary memory, attention
control abilities, and secondary memory abilities. We review evidence suggesting
that each facet is related to overall individual differences in WMC and part of the reason
for the predictive power of WMC. Furthermore, we outline the role of each facet in
various measures of WMC including complex span tasks, simple span tasks, and visual
arrays change detection tasks. We argue that to understand WMC and individual
differences in WMC, we must delineate and understand the various facets that make
up WMC.
Psychology of Learning and Motivation, Volume 65

© 2016 Elsevier Inc.
j
ISSN 0079-7421
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/bs.plm.2016.03.001 All rights reserved. 1
2 Nash Unsworth
1. INTRODUCTION
Researchers interested in both experimental and differential psychol-
ogy have long argued for the need to include individual differences in theory
construction (Cohen, 1994; Cronbach, 1957; Kosslyn et al., 2002; Melton,
1967; Underwood, 1975). In particular, it has been suggested that theories of
memory and attentional processes (and cognition in general) need to attempt
to account for individual differences in the ability to carry out the processes
specified in the theory. Although interest in individual differences in cogni-
tive processes has waxed and waned over the years, one area that has seen
fairly continual interest is that of immediate memory processes. This chapter
reviews prior research and our current thinking on individual differences in
working memory capacity (WMC), the nature of WMC limitations, the
role of WMC in cognitive tasks, and the relation between WMC and
higher-order cognition. Although there are many other excellent research
programs studying working memory and individual differences in WMC,
here we primarily focus on our own work. As will be seen, our work draws
on prior reviews published in this series including Atkinson and Shiffrin
(1968), Baddeley and Hitch (1974), Cowan, Morey, Chen, Gilchrist, and
Saults (2008), and Engle and Kane (2004), among others. Like prior calls
to combine experimental and differential methods, we use individual differ-
ences as a means of not only understanding differences among individuals in
cognitive capabilities, but also to better understand the nature and function
of working memory more broadly.
2. IMPORTANCE OF WORKING MEMORY

Research examining immediate memory is typically cast in frame-
works distinguishing information that is utilized over the short-term from
information that is utilized over the long-term. Initially, immediate memory
was conceptualized as a somewhat passive repository of information before
that information was transferred to long-term or secondary memory. In
early modal models of memory, immediate memory was seen as having
limited capacity and important task-relevant information was maintained
primarily via verbal rehearsal. If the information was not rehearsed, then it
was rapidly lost from the system.
Despite the importance of immediate memory and a wealth of data sup-
porting a division between immediate and long-term memory, it soon
Individual Differences in WMC 3
became clear that immediate memory, as initially conceptualized, was overly

simplistic in terms of being a simple passive buffer. With this limitation
clearly in mind Atkinson and Shiffrin (1971) and Baddeley and Hitch
(1974), among others, argued for a dynamic memory system where the
function of immediate memory was to carry out cognitive operations
important for a wide variety of tasks. Specifically, Baddeley and Hitch
(1974) argued for a memory system that could simultaneously manipulate
the currents contents of memory as well as update information in memory
to accomplish task goals. They called this system working memory to
emphasize the need for actively working with information rather than sim-
ply passively holding onto the information (see also Atkinson & Shiffrin,
1968, 1971; Miller, Galanter, & Pribram, 1960).
Early prominent models of working memory suggested that it was not
only a system responsible for actively maintaining task-relevant information,
but also a system composed of many important control processes that ensure
proper maintenance, storage, and retrieval of that information (eg, Atkinson
& Shiffrin, 1968, 1971; Baddeley & Hitch, 1974). These control processes
included rehearsal, coding, organization, and retrieval strategies. Impor-
tantly, these control processes were thought to be needed for coordinating
the many subcomponent processes necessary for processing new information
and to retrieve relevant old information. This conceptualization placed
working memory at the forefront of explaining complex cognitive activities.
Given the theoretical importance of working memory in a broad array of
tasks and situations, research over the last 35 plus years has been aimed at
examining the predictive power of working memory. That is, the capacity
of working memory should be related to a number of measures that rely on
working memory. Largely beginning with Daneman and Carpenter (1980)
research has found that individual differences in WMC are one of the best
predictors of a broad array of cognitive capabilities. Specifically, research
has shown that measures of WMC are related to reading and language
comprehension (Daneman & Carpenter, 1980), complex learning (Kyllonen
& Stephens, 1990), performance on standardized achievement tests (Engle,
Tuholski, Laughlin, & Conway, 1999), and vocabulary learning (Daneman
& Green, 1986). Thus, as theorized, measures of WMC demonstrate strong
and consistent relations with a broad array of cognitive abilities that are
thought to rely on working memory processes.
Beginning with the work of Kyllonen and Christal (1990) research has
suggested that there is a strong link between individual differences in
WMC and intelligence (see also Engle et al., 1999; Kane et al., 2004). In
4 Nash Unsworth
particular, this work suggests that at an individual task level, measures of

WMC correlate with fluid intelligence (gF) around 0.45 (Ackerman, Beier,
& Boyle, 2005) and at the latent level, WMC and gF are correlated around
0.72 (Kane, Hambrick, & Conway, 2005). Thus, at a latent level WMC and
gF seem to share approximately half of their variance. As a further example
of this relation, we reanalyzed data from 867 participants from our labora-
tory each of which had completed three WMC measures and three gF mea-
sures. Shown in Fig. 1 is the resulting latent variable model. As can be seen,
WMC and gF abilities were strongly related. These examples demonstrate
that WMC and gF are strongly related and share a good deal of common
variance. Furthermore, these results demonstrate that this important relation
is domain-general in nature given that both the WMC and gF factors were
made up by tasks varying in their content. This suggests that whatever the
reasons for the relation between WMC and fluid abilities, they are likely
domain-general and cut across multiple different types of tasks.
Additionally, not only has WMC been implicated in higher-order
cognition, but WMC is also implicated in other research domains. For
example, measures of WMC predict early onset Alzheimer’s disease (Rosen,
Bergeson, Putnam, Harwell, & Sunderland, 2002), one’s ability to deal with
life-event stress (Klein & Boals, 2001), aspects of personality (Unsworth
Figure 1 Confirmatory factor analysis for working memory capacity (WMC) and fluid
intelligence (gF). Ospan ¼ operation span; Symspan ¼ symmetry span; Rspan ¼ reading
span; Raven ¼ Raven Advanced Progressive Matrices; LS ¼ letter sets; NS ¼ number se-
ries. All paths and loadings are significant at the p < 0.05 level.
et al., 2009), susceptibility to choking under pressure (Beilock & Carr,

2005), and stereotype threat (Schamader & Johns, 2003). Furthermore,
various neuropsychological disorders, including certain aphasias (Caspari,
Parkinson, LaPointe, & Katz, 1998), Alzheimer’s disease (Kempler, Almor,
Tyler, Andersen, & MacDonald, 1998), schizophrenia (Stone, Gabrieli,
Stebbins, & Sullivan, 1998), and Parkinson’s disease (Gabrieli, Singh,
Stebbins, & Goetz, 1996), have been linked to deficits in WMC. Thus,
the utility of WMC is not merely limited to performance on high-level
cognitive tasks, but is also important in a variety of situations that impact
people on a day-to-day basis.
3. A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR WORKING

MEMORY CAPACITY
Based on prior work we have developed a theory of individual
differences in WMC which suggests that individual differences in WMC
result from multiple facets, each of which is important for performance on
a variety of tasks (Unsworth, 2014; Unsworth & Engle, 2007; Unsworth,
Fukuda, Awh, & Vogel, 2014; Unsworth & Spillers, 2010a). Similar to prior
conceptions, we think of working memory as consisting of memory units
active above some threshold that can be represented via a variety of different
codes (phonological, visuospatial, semantic, etc.), as well as a set of general
purpose control processes (eg, Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1971; Cowan, 1988;
1995). Specifically, in line with classic dual-component models of memory,
we suggest that there is a limited capacity component important for main-
taining information over short time intervals and a larger more durable
component important for maintaining information over longer time inter-
vals (Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968; Raaijmakers & Shiffrin, 1980). Similar to
James (1890), we refer to these two components as primary memory
(PM) and secondary memory (SM; c.f. Craik, 1971; Craik & Levy, 1976).
Thus, similar to the model initially proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin
(1971), working memory represents both the activated portion of the
long-term repository and the set of control processes that act on those acti-
vated representations to bring them into a heightened state of activation and
actively maintain them in the face of distraction (see also Engle et al., 1999).
In this framework, attention control processes serve to actively maintain
a few distinct representations for online processing in PM. These represen-
tations include things such as goal states for the current task, action plans,
partial solutions to reasoning problems, and item representations in list
6 Nash Unsworth
memory tasks. In this view, as long as attention is allocated to these repre-

sentations, they will be actively maintained in PM (Craik & Levy, 1976).
This continued allocation of attention serves to protect these representations
from interfering internal and external distraction (eg, Engle & Kane, 2004;
Unsworth & Engle, 2007). However, if attention is removed from the rep-
resentations due to internal or external distraction or due to the processing of
incoming information that exceed capacity, these representations will no
longer be actively maintained in PM and therefore, will have to be retrieved
from SM if needed. Accordingly, SM relies on a cue-dependent search
mechanism to retrieve items (Raaijmakers & Shiffrin, 1980; Shiffrin,
1970). Additionally, the extent to which items can be retrieved from SM
will be dependent on overall encoding abilities, the ability to reinstate the
encoding context at retrieval, and the ability to focus the search on target
items and exclude interfering items (ie, proactive interference). Similar to
Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968, 1971) this framework suggests that working
memory is not only a state of activation, but also represents the set of control
processes that are needed to maintain that state of activation, to prevent
other items from gaining access to this state of activation, and to bring other
items into this state of activation via controlled retrieval (Engle et al., 1999).
Thus, working memory represents a dynamic interface between information
present in the environment and our repository of past experiences.
Within the current framework, individual differences in WMC arise
from multiple different factors. Specifically, as discussed more thoroughly
throughout, individual differences in WMC arise from differences in the
capacity of PM, differences in attention control processes that serve to main-
tain task-relevant information in PM, and differences in control processes
that ensure that task-relevant information is properly encoded in and
retrieved from SM. Thus, we will suggest that there are three primary rea-
sons for differences in WMC, and each of these different facets is important
for the predictive power of WMC. That is, measures of WMC are related to
performance in a wide variety of tasks and situations. It seems unlikely that
there is a single cause/mechanism responsible for these relations. Indeed,
prior research has consistently shown that if you covary out one primary
cause (such as attention control) the relation between WMC and some other
variable (eg, gF) is reduced but not completely eliminated (ie, Unsworth,
2014; Unsworth & Spillers, 2010a). Thus, it is unlikely that individual dif-
ferences in WMC reduce to a single common cause. Here we suggest
that WMC represents a number of important related facets, each of which
is important for higher-order cognitive processes. Furthermore, we suggest
that individuals may differ on some, or all of these facets, thereby deter-
mining the relation with other measures. Collectively, this suggests that
there are multiple functional roles that WMC plays, and points to the multi-
faceted nature of individual differences in WMC. In the next sections, we
discuss in detail ours and related work on these facets.
4. MULTIPLE FACETS INFLUENCE INDIVIDUAL

DIFFERENCES IN WORKING MEMORY CAPACITY
4.1 Capacity of Primary Memory
We consider PM as the small set of items that are in heightened state of
activation and the current focus of processing. That is, the small set of items
that an individual is currently consciously working with. We have argued
that the function of PM is to maintain a distinct number of separate repre-
sentations active for ongoing processing. These representations remain
active via the continued allocation of attention. This is consistent with prior
work by Craik and Levy (1976) who suggested that “the capacity of primary
memory is the number of events that can be attended to simultaneously or
the number of internal representations that can be simultaneously activated
by the process of attention” (Craik & Levy, 1976, p. 166). Thus, PM is the
small set of items that are being maintained in mind from the environment
or the small set of items that are reactivated from our long-term repository.
Craik and Levy (1976) go on to note that “information is ‘in PM’ only by
virtue of the continued allocation of attention; when attention is diverted
the trace is left in SM” (p. 166). Similar to Craik and Levy (1976) we assume
that an item is in PM if it is currently be attended to. If attention is directed
elsewhere, due to processing new information or having attention captured
by internal (mind-wandering) or external distraction, representations will be
displaced from PM. Similar to the view advocated here, Craik and Levy
(1976) argued that the capacity of PM is the capacity to maintain a distinct
number of representations by continually paying attention to those repre-
sentations. This suggests that a key aspect to PM is the ability to individuate
and apprehend multiple items and maintain those items in an active state to
facilitate the further processing of task-relevant information (Cowan, 2001).
PM is also thought to be a highly flexible component that changes
depending on the current context and goals (Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968,
1971; Davelaar, Goshen-Gottstein, Ashkenazi, Haarmann, & Usher,
2005). That is, PM is not simply a buffer limited to a particular number
8 Nash Unsworth
of slots, but rather is a more dynamic system that can change due to task
demands. In particular, in tasks and situations where many representations
need to be maintained (such as remembering a long list of items), the capac-
ity of PM will be maximal. This is because at recall, items that are in PM are
simply unloaded and recall is nearly perfect. Furthermore, maintaining items
in PM selectively protects those items from proactive interference (PI; Craik
& Birtwistle, 1971; Unsworth & Engle, 2007; Wickens, Moody, & Dow,
1981). In other tasks where only a single important representation needs
to be maintained (such as maintaining an important goal), the capacity of
PM will shrink to encapsulate only this one representation. In both situa-
tions, the representations are maintained by continually paying attention
to them. If attention is captured by distracting external or internal stimuli,
the information will fail to be actively maintained leading to decrements
in performance.
Based on a great deal of evidence, PM is thought to have a capacity of
approximately 4 1 items (Broadbent, 1975; Cowan, 2001). When more
than four items are present, items currently within PM are probabilistically
displaced and must be recalled from SM. Evidence for a four-item limit
comes from a variety of behavioral and physiological studies. For example,
Cowan (2001) (see also Cowan et al., 2008) reviewed a wealth of evidence
from the prior reviews of Broadbent (1975) and Watkins (1974) as well as
much more recent evidence from a number of tasks and found that the
average capacity was close to four items. For example, estimates of visual
working memory obtained from visual arrays tasks suggest a capacity of
approximately four items (Luck & Vogel, 1997). Similar estimates arise
when examining multiobject tracking, the influence of proactive interfer-
ence on recall, the subitizing range, and parameter estimates of capacity in
mathematical models of memory and cognition. In nearly all cases four or
so items seemed to be maintained. Cowan (2001) suggested that capacity
of the focus of attention (or PM) was roughly four items. Additionally, it
should be noted that similar estimates are obtained when using a variety
of materials and variety of presentation modes suggesting that PM is a
domain-general system that maintains a distinct set of items regardless of
their particular code (Li, Christ, & Cowan, 2014).
Recent neural and physiological evidence corroborates the behavioral
estimates of capacity. For example, using functional magnetic resonance im-
aging (fMRI), Todd and Marois (2004) found that the delay signal in the
intraparietal sulcus increased as set size increased, reaching asymptote around
three to four items. Examining event-related potentials, Vogel and
Machizawa (2004) demonstrated that sustained activity over posterior

parietal electrodes during the delay of a visual working memory task
increased as set size increased and reached asymptote around three to four
items. This activity, known as the contralateral delay activity (CDA), reflects
a sustained negative wave at posterior electrodes contralateral to the attended
hemifield. Importantly, the CDA seems to track the number of items
currently being maintained in PM (Vogel & Machizawa, 2004).
Recently we examined whether phasic pupillary responses would also
track the number of items being maintained in PM over a brief delay
(Unsworth & Robison, 2015a). Much prior research has shown that the pu-
pil dilates in response to the cognitive demands of a task (Beatty, 1982). For
example, Kahneman and Beatty (1966) demonstrated that pupillary dilation
increased as more items were required for recall in a standard short-term
memory task (see also Peavler, 1974). These effects reflect task-evoked
phasic pupillary responses in which the pupil dilates relative to baseline levels
due to increases in cognitive processing load. A number of studies have
demonstrated similar phasic pupillary responses in a variety of tasks (Beatty
& Lucero-Wagoner, 2000). These and other results led Kahneman (1973)
and Beatty (1982) to suggest that phasic pupillary responses correspond to
the intensive aspect of attention and provide an online indication of the
utilization of capacity (see also Beatty & Lucero-Wagoner, 2000). Thus,
assuming that PM capacity reflects the number of items that can be main-
tained via the continued allocation of attention, we should see that attention
is allocated to items during the delay to maintain them in PM, and that as the
amount of information that needs to be maintained increases, so should the
amount of attentional allocation. Importantly, this increase in attention
allocation should increase only up to capacity limits, at which point no
more attention can be allocated resulting in leveling off. To examine this,
we had participants perform a visual arrays change detection task in which
the number of items to be maintained varied from one to eight and partic-
ipants’ pupils were measured continuously throughout the task. Consistent
with prior research, behavioral PM capacity was estimated at close to four
items (Cowan, 2001). Importantly, phasic pupillary responses increased as
set size increased and then plateaued between around four items consistent
with the behavioral estimate of PM capacity. Additionally, the phasic
response maintained throughout the delay period suggesting that partici-
pants were continuously allocating effortful attention to the items to actively
maintain them in PM. Collectively, these results suggest that the capacity of
PM is limited to four or so items and this capacity limit, results from the fact
10 Nash Unsworth
that only four or so items can be distinctly maintained via the continued allo-
cation of attention.
In terms of individual differences in WMC, we and others (eg, Cowan
et al., 2005; Cowan, Fristoe, Elliot, Brunner, 2006) have suggested that a
critical determinant is the number of items that can be maintained in PM.
That is, individual differences in the capacity of PM is one of the main sour-
ces of variance contributing to individual differences in WMC, and part of
the reason WMC relates to higher-order cognitive constructs like gF. Based
on prior work by Broadbent (1975) and Cowan (2001) there are three main
ways in which individual differences in PM capacity have been assessed.
Although there are a number of different ways of assessing PM capacity,
these three have been used most frequently. These include obtaining
estimates of PM capacity from immediate free recall, estimating capacity
from errorless performance on simple span tasks, and estimating capacity
from visual arrays change detection tasks. Each of these has been shown
to demonstrate substantial individual differences, and each has been shown
to correlate with measures of WMC and gF. For example, consider PM
estimates obtained from immediate free recall. Here participants are given
a list of items (typically words), and after the last word participants are
instructed to recall all of the items they can in any order they wish. A num-
ber of methods have been developed in an attempt to estimate the contri-
butions of PM and SM in these tasks (eg, Watkins, 1974). In prior
research we and others have relied on Tulving and Colotla’s (1970) method.
In this method, the number of words between a given word’s presentation
and recall was tallied. If there were seven or fewer words intervening
between presentation and recall of a given word, the word was considered
to be recalled from PM. If more than seven words intervened, then the word
was considered to be recalled from SM. This method suggests that items in
PM are those items that are recalled first, with only a minimal amount of
interference from input and output events (Watkins, 1974). Importantly,
this method does not suggest that all recency items are recalled from PM,
rather only those recency items that are recalled first. It is entirely possible
that participants will recall a recency item after many other items have
been recalled, in which case that item would be considered to be recalled
from SM. Prior work has suggested that this method provides fairly valid
estimates of PM and SM (Watkins, 1974). With this method we have
repeatedly shown that high WMC individuals have higher estimates of
PM capacity than low WMC individuals (see Fig. 2). Furthermore, these
estimates correlate well with measures of WMC and with measures of
5
High WMC
4.5
Low WMC
4
3.5
PM Estimate
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
IFR1 IFR2 IFR3 SS1 SS2 CD
Task
Figure 2 Estimates of primary memory capacity for high and low working memory in-
dividuals on immediate free recall (IFR), errorless performance on simple span tasks
(SS), and change detection (CD). IFR1 is from Unsworth and Engle (2007); IFR2 is
from Engle et al. (1999); IFR3 is from Unsworth, Spillers, et al. (2010); SS1 from Engle
et al. (1999) (reanalyzed by Unsworth, 2014); SS2 is from Unsworth and Engle (2006);
CD is from Unsworth et al. (2014).
intelligence (eg, Engle et al., 1999; Unsworth, Spillers, & Brewer, 2010;
Shipstead, Lindsey, Marshall, & Engle, 2014).
Similar results are obtained when estimating PM capacity via errorless
performance in simple span tasks. Specifically, as suggested by Broadbent
(1975), one can estimate PM capacity by examining the point at which par-
ticipants drop off of perfect performance on simple span tasks. Using this
method we (Unsworth & Engle, 2006) found that estimates of PM capacity
were around four items and that these estimates correlated with WMC and
gF. Similar to the results obtained with immediate free recall, high WMC
individuals have larger estimates of PM capacity than low WMC individuals
(see Fig. 2). To see if these results replicate, we reanalyzed data from Engle
et al. (1999) examining errorless performance (see Unsworth, 2014). As
shown in Fig. 2, similar differences in PM capacity between high and low
WMC individuals were found. Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 3, when
examining performance as a function of list-length, it is clear that perfor-
mance is very high for short list-lengths. For larger list-lengths there is a large
drop in performance, and this drop in performance occurs earlier for low
WMC individuals than for high WMC individuals. Importantly, we also
examined the extent to which estimates of PM capacity from immediate
free recall and errorless performance on simple span tasks would correlate
and load on the same factor. Shown in Fig. 4A is a confirmatory factor
12 Nash Unsworth
1
0.9
0.8
Proportion Correct
0.7
0.6
High WMC
0.5
Low WMC
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
2 3 4 5 6 7
List-Length
Figure 3 Proportion correct as a function of list-length in simple span tasks for high
and low working memory capacity (WMC) individuals. Data is from Unsworth, N., &
Engle, R. W. (2006). Simple and complex memory spans and their relation to fluid abilities:
evidence from list-length effects. Journal of Memory and Language, 54, 68e80..
analysis demonstrating that estimates of PM capacity from the different

methods correlate and load on the same latent factor. Importantly, this latent
factor is related to both WMC and gF. Thus, similar estimates are obtained
from the different methods, and these capacity estimates are related to
individual differences in WMC and gF.
Another method for estimating PM capacity prominently used in studies
of visual working memory comes from visual arrays change detection tasks.
In this task, participants are briefly shown an array of items (such as colored
squares) and following a brief delay are presented with a test array in which
one of the items may have changed colors. The participant’s task is to indi-
cate if one of the items has changed color or not (Luck & Vogel, 1997).
Similar to examining errorless performance on simple span tasks, prior
research has shown that performance is good up until around four items,
after which performance gets steadily worse (Luck & Vogel, 1997). Using
a formula to estimate capacity in these tasks has shown that capacity (k) is
typically around three to four items with substantial individual differences.
Importantly, variance in capacity from these tasks is related to other measures
of WMC such that high WMC individuals have larger capacities than low
WMC individuals (see Fig. 2). Additionally, a number of recent studies
have found that individual differences in capacity in these tasks is related
to higher-order cognition and are part of the reason why WMC is related
to higher-order cognition (eg, Cowan et al., 2005, 2006; Fukuda, Vogel,

Mayr, & Awh, 2010; Shipstead, Redick, Hicks, & Engle, 2012, 2014;
Unsworth et al., 2014). For example, shown in Fig. 4B is a reanalysis of
Shipstead et al. (2014) in which measures of PM capacity from immediate
free recall and the change detection tasks are allowed to load on the same
latent factor, and this factor is allowed to correlate with factors for WMC
and gF. As can be seen, capacity estimates from the two methods correlate
and load with similar magnitudes on the PM factor. Importantly, this
factor is strongly related to the WMC and gF factors. Thus, the variance
in common between PM estimates from immediate free recall and change
detection index is an important individual difference that is related to
WMC and gF. We suggest that this shared variance is an index of an indi-
vidual’s ability to actively maintain distinct pieces of information in PM,
regardless of the nature or modality of that information. That is, what is
shared across the verbal (immediate free recall) and visual (change detec-
tion) estimates of PM capacity is a critical reason for individual differences
in WMC.
In addition to demonstrating individual differences in behavioral esti-
mates of capacity, a number of recent studies have found physiological cor-
relates of PM capacity as well. For example, as mentioned previously, Todd
and Marois (2004) found that activity in the intraparietal sulcus asymptoted
around three to four items. Importantly in a subsequent study Todd and
Marois (2005) found that the delay activity predicted individual differences
in behavioral estimates of working memory capacity. Furthermore, Vogel
and Machizawa (2004) demonstrated that the CDA not only plateaued
around three to five items, but it was also strongly related to behavioral
estimates of an individual’s capacity. A number of subsequent studies have
shown that the CDA provides an index of an individual’s capacity. Indeed,
in a recent latent variable study we (Unsworth, Fukuda, Awh, & Vogel,
2015) found that the CDA across different tasks correlated (r ¼ 0.65) and
loaded on the same latent factor. Importantly, this latent CDA factor was
related to behavioral estimates of capacity (r ¼ 0.37), as well as latent
factors of WMC (r ¼ 0.20) and gF (r ¼ 0.49). Thus, neural markers of
PM capacity are potent predictors of individual differences in WMC and
higher-order cognition.
Another physiological correlate of PM capacity is pupil diameter. Earlier
we described a study where we examined pupillary correlates of PM capac-
ity, demonstrating that phasic pupillary responses during a delay in a change
detection task increased until around four items and then plateaued
14 Nash Unsworth
Figure 4 (A) Confirmatory factor analysis for working memory capacity (WMC), fluid in-
telligence (gF), and primary memory (PM) with PM estimates from immediate free recall
and errorless performance in two simple span tasks. Ospan ¼ operation span;
(Unsworth & Robison, 2015a). In that study we also examined individual

differences. We found that behavioral estimates of capacity correlated
with phasic pupillary responses (r ¼ 0.43), suggesting that high WMC indi-
viduals were able to maintain more items in PM than low WMC individuals
due to a greater allocation of attention. Furthermore, assuming that actively
maintaining items throughout a delay is effortful, we should see an increase
in pupil diameter at the beginning of the delay, this increase should be main-
tained throughout the delay, and this should differ between high and low
WMC individuals. This is precisely what was found. For example, shown
in Fig. 5 are the phasic pupillary responses (set sizes four to eight averaged
together) for high and low WMC individuals. For high WMC individuals
there is a sharp increase early in the delay period and this maintains
throughout the delay. For low WMC individuals the increase is more
gradual throughout the delay period, and low WMC individuals do not
quite reach the same level as high WMC individuals. This suggests that
when presented with a number of items that meet or exceed one’s capacity,
effortful attention is needed to maintain those items throughout a delay, and
high WMC individuals are better able to allocate attention to those items
than low WMC individuals.
Estimates of capacity from various sources (different tasks, physiological
and neural markers) share considerable variance and seem to reflect a
common ability. We and others suggest that the capacity of PM reflects
the ability to maintain a few important and task-relevant representations
in a highly active state for ongoing processing. These representations are
maintained via the continued allocation of attention, and there are substan-
tial individual differences in this capacity. Variability in PM capacity is a crit-
ical reason for individual differences in WMC and a main reason why
=---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cspan ¼ counting span; Rspan ¼ reading span; Raven ¼ Raven Progressive Matrices;
Cattell ¼ Cattell’s Culture Fair Test; IFRPM ¼ primary memory estimate from immediate
free recall; FDPM ¼ primary memory estimate from forward span with phonologically
dissimilar words; FSPM ¼ primary memory estimate from forward span with phonolog-
ically similar words. All paths and loadings are significant at the p < 0.05 level. (B)
Confirmatory factor analysis for WMC, gF, and PM with PM estimates from immediate
free recall and k estimates from change detection. Ospan ¼ operation span; Sym-
span ¼ symmetry span; Raven ¼ Raven Advanced Progressive Matrices; LS ¼ letter
sets; NS ¼ number series; IFRPM1 ¼ primary memory estimate from immediate free
recall; IFRPM2 ¼ primary memory estimate from immediate free recall; CDPM2 ¼ pri-
mary memory estimate from change detection; CDPM2 ¼ primary memory estimate
from change detection.
16 Nash Unsworth
0.1
0.08
Change in pupil diameter (mm)
0.06
0.04 High WMC

Low WMC
0.02
0
200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 2200 2400 2600 2800 3000 3200 3400 3600 3800 4000
-0.02 Time (ms)
Figure 5 Phasic pupillary responses during a delay for high and low working memory
capacity (WMC) individuals.
measures of WMC correlate so well with measures of higher-order cogni-

tion (particularly gF).
4.2 Attention Control

We consider attention control (AC) as the set of attentional processes that aid
in the ability to actively maintain information in PM in the presence of
interference and distraction. That is, AC refers to the ability to select and
actively maintain items in the presence of internal and external distraction
(Engle & Kane, 2004). In particular, AC abilities are necessary when goal-
relevant information must be maintained in a highly active state in the pres-
ence of potent internal and external distraction. Any lapse of attention (or
goal neglect, Duncan, 1995; De Jong, Berendsen, & Cools, 1999) will likely
lead to a loss of the task goal and will result in attention being automatically
captured by internal (eg, mind-wandering; Kane et al., 2007; McVay &
Kane, 2012a) or external distraction (eg, Fukuda & Vogel, 2009; Unsworth
et al., 2014; Unsworth & McMillan, 2014a). Thus, AC abilities are needed
to protect items that are being held in PM, to effectively select target repre-
sentations for active maintenance, to filter out irrelevant distractors and
prevent them from gaining access to PM (eg, Vogel, McCollough, &
Machizawa, 2005), and to sustain a consistent level of attention across trials.
As a classic example, consider the antisaccade task (Hallet, 1978). In this
task, participants must direct their gaze and their attention either toward
(prosaccade) or away (antisaccade) from a flashing cue. On prosaccade trials,
the task goal and the prepotent response coincide (eg, look at the flashing
box). Relying on either goal maintenance or automatic orienting will result
in the correct behavior. On antisaccade trials, however, the task goal and the
prepotent response conflict (eg, if flashing on left, look right). Thus, on anti-
saccade trials it is critically important to maintain the task goal in order for
accurate responding to occur. If the task goal is not actively maintained,
any momentary lapse in attention will result in attentional capture by the
cue (Roberts, Hager, & Heron, 1994; Roberts & Pennington, 1996).
Thus, any lapses in attention will result in the prepotent response guiding
behavior and the occurrence of a fast reflexive error (ie, looking at the
flashing cue), or a much slower than normal response time. In terms of in-
dividual differences, high and low WMC individuals differ in the extent to
which they can maintain representations in an active state, including goal
representations, and thus low WMC individuals should demonstrate poorer
performance on antisaccade trials which is exactly the case (Kane, Bleckley,
Conway, & Engle, 2001; Unsworth, Schrock, & Engle, 2004; Unsworth,
Redick, et al., 2012). Specifically, low WMC individuals make more anti-
saccade errors (ie, they are more likely to look at the flashing cue) and have
slower correct reaction times than high WMC individuals suggesting that
they are more susceptible to goal neglect. Indeed, reanalyzing data from
1038 participants in our laboratory suggests that WMC and antisaccade ac-
curacy are consistently correlated (r ¼ 0.31). Thus, a key aspect of AC is the
ability to actively maintain the current goal in a highly active state and pre-
vent attentional capture.
These AC abilities are needed in a host of tasks which have been shown
to correlate with WMC. For example, in addition to antisaccade, WMC
differences have been demonstrated in Stroop interference (Kane & Engle,
2003; Meier & Kane, 2013; Morey et al., 2012), flanker interference (Heitz
& Engle, 2007; Redick & Engle, 2006), dichotic listening (Colflesh &
Conway, 2007; Conway, Cowan, & Bunting, 2001), performance on the
psychomotor vigilance task (Unsworth, Redick, et al., 2010; Unsworth &
Spillers, 2010a), performance on the Sustained Attention to Response
Task (SART; McVay & Kane, 2009), performance on versions of go/
no-go tasks (Redick, Calvo, Gay, & Engle, 2011), performance on the
AX-CPT task (Redick, 2014; Redick & Engle, 2011; Richmond, Redick,
& Braver, 2015), performance on cued visual search tasks (Poole & Kane,
2009), performance on attentional capture tasks (Fukuda & Vogel, 2009,
2011), and performance on some versions of the Simon task (Meier &
Kane, 2015).
18 Nash Unsworth
Figure 6 (A) Confirmatory factor analysis for working memory capacity (WMC), fluid in-
telligence (gF), and attention control (AC). Ospan ¼ operation span; Symspan ¼ sym-
metry span; Rspan ¼ reading span; Raven ¼ Raven Advanced Progressive Matrices;
LS ¼ letter sets; NS ¼ number series; Anti ¼ antisaccade; Flanker ¼ flanker interference
score; PVT ¼ psychomotor vigilance task. All paths and loadings are significant at the
Across a number of studies, individual differences in WMC have been

shown to be related to performance on a number of AC tasks. These differ-
ences are found not only when examining individual AC measures, but also
when examining latent variables composed of the shared variance among
multiple AC tasks. For example, Unsworth and Spillers (2010) had partici-
pants perform a number of WMC tasks as well as antisaccade, flankers,
Stroop, and the psychomotor vigilance task as measures of AC. We found
that all of the AC tasks loaded on the same AC factor and this factor was
strongly related to latent WMC and gF factors (see also McVay & Kane,
2012; Unsworth et al., 2014; Unsworth & McMillan, 2014a). Indeed, as a
further demonstration of the robustness of the AC relation with WMC
and gF, shown in Fig. 6A is a confirmatory factor analysis examining data
from 646 participants in our laboratory. As can be seen, antisaccade accuracy,
flanker interference, and the slowest 20% of trials on the psychomotor
vigilance task all loaded onto the same latent AC factor, and this factor
was strongly correlated with WMC and gF. Thus, AC abilities are reliably
related to WMC and gF.
As noted above, a critical aspect of AC is the ability to ensure that goal
and task-relevant information is actively maintained in PM in the presence
of interference and distraction. Thus, within the overall working memory
system, AC is needed to ensure that task-relevant items are being actively
maintained and attentional capture from internal and external distractors is
prevented. With any lapse of attention it is likely that attention will be
captured by salient stimuli due to the task goal being displaced from PM
and resulting in erratic and reduced performance.
In general, there are two main types of lapses of attention (internal and
external) both of which can derail the current train of thought. One potent
form of internal distraction is mind-wandering or daydreaming. It is gener-
ally quite difficult to sustain attention on a task for a length of time (espe-
cially if the task is boring). A great deal of prior research suggests that
=---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
p < 0.05 level. (B) Confirmatory factor analysis for WMC, gF, AC, and off-task thoughts.
Ospan ¼ operation span; Symspan ¼ symmetry span; Rspan ¼ reading span;
Raven ¼ Raven Advanced Progressive Matrices; LS ¼ letter sets; Anti ¼ antisaccade,
SARTacc ¼ accuracy in sustained attention to response task; SARTsd ¼ standard devi-
ation of reaction times in the sustained attention to response task; PVT ¼ psychomotor
vigilance task; AOff ¼ off-task thoughts in antisaccade; SOff ¼ off-task thoughts in the
SART; POff ¼ off-task thoughts in the PVT. All paths and loadings are significant at the
p < 0.05 level.
20 Nash Unsworth
participants report mind-wandering during many cognitive tasks and that

the degree of mind-wandering varies as a function of task variables such as
time on task, task complexity, and task difficulty (McVay & Kane, 2010;
Smallwood & Schooler, 2006). Importantly, mind-wandering rates correlate
with task performance such that performance is lower when participants
report that they were mind-wandering on the preceding trial compared
to when participants report that they are currently focused on the task
(McVay & Kane, 2010; Smallwood & Schooler, 2006). A number of recent
studies have shown that low WMC individuals mind-wander more than
high WMC individuals, and this variation in mind-wandering partially
mediates the relation between WMC and AC (eg, McVay & Kane, 2009,
2012a, 2012b; Robison & Unsworth, 2015; Unsworth & McMillan,
2013, 2014a). For example, McVay and Kane (2009) found that low
WMC individuals reported more mind-wandering during the SART than
high WMC individuals, and importantly that mind-wandering rates partially
mediated the relation between WMC and performance on the SART.
Subsequent work by McVay and Kane (2012a) and Kane & McVay
(2012) has found that mind-wandering rates across various tasks (Stroop,
SART, reading comprehension) correlate quite well and load on the same
latent factor, and this latent mind-wandering factor correlates well with
latent WMC and AC factors and mind-wandering mediated the WMC-
reading comprehension relation. In follow-up research we found that indi-
vidual differences in mind-wandering were due to a combination of factors
including WMC, interest in the current task, and motivation to do well on
the task (Unsworth & McMillan, 2013). Importantly, we found that the
WMCemind-wandering relation was independent of interest and motiva-
tion suggesting that low WMC individuals’ deficits in AC and susceptibility
to mind-wandering were not simply due to a lack of interest or motivation,
but rather reflected a real cognitive deficit that arises on tasks requiring
focused attention and working memory processes. Indeed, recent research
has found that mind-wandering occurs during WMC (Mrazek et al.,
2012; Unsworth & Robison, 2016) and gF (Mrazek et al., 2012;
Unsworth & McMillan, 2014b) tasks and mind-wandering rates are nega-
tively related with overall task performance.
Variation in mind-wandering and WMC has also been found in more
ecological contexts examining everyday attentional failures. For example,
Kane et al. (2007) had participants perform WMC tasks in the laboratory
and then participants carried PDAs for a week. Periodically throughout
the day the PDAs would beep and participants would have to answer a
variety of questions about whether they had just been mind-wandering.

Consistent with laboratory assessments of mind-wandering, Kane et al.
found that low WMC individuals experienced more mind-wandering in
daily life when their current task required concentration, was challenging,
or was effortful. Similarly Unsworth, Brewer, and Spillers (2012) had partic-
ipants perform a number of tasks in the laboratory (WMC, AC, prospective
memory, retrospective memory) and then carry a diary around for a week
logging their various cognitive failures. We found that WMC and AC
assessed in the laboratory predicted everyday attentional failures such that
low WMC individuals reported more mind-wandering than high WMC in-
dividuals. In a subsequent analysis of the data focusing only specific types of
attentional failures, we (Unsworth, McMillan, Brewer, & Spillers, 2012)
found that most attention failures occurred either in the classroom or while
studying. Like Kane et al. (2007), we found that WMC and AC predicted
everyday attentional failures that seemed to require a high degree of focused
and sustained attention, but did not predict all types of attentional failures.
Thus, low WMC individuals found it more difficult than high WMC indi-
viduals to sustain their attention on challenging and demanding tasks leading
to attention failures (ie, more mind-wandering). However, on tasks that did
not require a great deal of effort, WMC was unrelated to mind-wandering,
suggesting boundary conditions under which AC processes are needed (see
also Kane, Poole, Tuholski, & Engle, 2006).
In addition to mind-wandering, lapses of attention can also occur due to
potent external distraction such as a loud banging, a honking horn, or a
colleague playing their music too loud. Like mind-wandering, AC abilities
are needed to protect and maintain task-relevant information in working
memory against these potent distractors. Note here we are particularly
talking about distraction that not only occurs in the environment, but is
also irrelevant to the task at hand. To assess this we (Unsworth & McMillan,
2014a) had participants perform a number of WMC and AC tasks in the
laboratory. During the AC tasks we periodically asked participants about
their current attentional state. Similar to McVay and Kane (2012a) we asked
if participants were thinking about the current task or mind-wandering. In
addition we also asked if participants were distracted by information in the
external environment (Stawarczyk, Majerus, Maj, Van der Linden, &
D’Argembeau, 2011). The idea being that low WMC individuals will be
more likely than high WMC individuals to have their attention captured
by both internal distractors (mind-wandering) and potent external distractors
(such as loud noises or flickering lights while trying to sustain their attention
22 Nash Unsworth
on the task at hand. We found that mind-wandering and external distraction

were correlated at the latent level (r ¼ 0.44; see also Unsworth, McMillan,
et al. (2012) for a similar demonstration in everyday attention failures) and
both were correlated with WMC, AC, and gF. In fact, the shared variance
among external distraction, mind-wandering, and performance on the
attention control tasks was strongly correlated with WMC. Indeed, as
shown in Fig. 6B, susceptibility to off-task thoughts (here a combination
of external distraction and mind-wandering) is related to WMC, AC, and
gF suggesting that low ability individuals are more likely to have their atten-
tion captured by internal and external distraction. In follow-up research we
have found that the extent to which WMC is related to mind-wandering or
external distraction is somewhat dependent on whether potent external dis-
tractors are present (Robison & Unsworth, 2015). Specifically, when partic-
ipants perform a task in a quiet room with little distraction, WMC seems to
be related to mind-wandering. However, if distraction is present (in the
form of irrelevant auditory information), then WMC seems to be related
to external distraction, rather than to mind-wandering. Thus, WMC pre-
vents attentional capture to mind-wandering and external distraction in a
context-specific manner.
Collectively these results suggest that AC abilities are needed to prevent
attentional capture (to both internal and external distraction) and to protect
important, yet fragile, information in working memory. Building on this
line of reasoning, we have suggested that a key aspect of AC that relates
to WMC is whether one can consistently apply control across trials. That
is, trial-to-trial variability in AC is critically important. High WMC individ-
uals are better able to consistently sustain attention on task than low WMC
individuals, resulting in more fluctuations and lapses of attention for low
WMC individuals than high WMC individuals. Evidence consistent with
this notion comes from a number of recent studies which have shown
that low WMC individuals have more slow reaction times (RTs) and
more variability in RTs during AC tasks than high WMC individuals
(McVay & Kane, 2012b; Schmiedek, Oberauer, Wilhelm, S€ uß, &
Wittmann, 2007; Unsworth, Redick, et al., 2010; Unsworth et al., 2012c;
Unsworth, 2015). For example, Unsworth (2015) found that variability of
RTs in AC tasks (but not variability in RTs on lexical decision tasks) corre-
lated with WMC and gF. Furthermore, variability in RTs (particularly slow
RTs) on AC tasks predicted mind-wandering rates (both in and out of the
laboratory), WMC, and gF. Thus, the consistency of AC may be the key
factor that relates to WMC and other cognitive abilities. Indeed, recently
Adam, Mance, Fukuda, and Vogel (2015) found that low WMC individuals
experienced more trial-to-trial fluctuations in performance on a visual
working memory task than high WMC individuals, suggesting that incon-
sistency in AC is a likely reason for poorer performance seen by low WMC
individuals on various working memory tasks.
If consistency (or inconsistency) of AC is a critical factor, then one
natural question is what gives rise to fluctuations in AC? Recently we
have suggested that individual differences in the functioning of the locus
coeruleus norepinephrine system (LC-NE) may be a key reason for individ-
ual differences in WMC and AC (Unsworth & Robison, 2015b). Briefly,
the LC is a brain stem neuromodulatory nucleus that is responsible for
most of the NE released in the brain, and it has widespread projections
throughout the neocortex including frontal areas (Berridge & Waterhouse,
2003; Samuels & Szabadi, 2008). The LC also receives major inputs from the
prefrontal cortex (particularly the anterior cingulate cortex) suggesting a
reciprocal connection between the LC-NE system and frontal cortex
(Arnsten & Goldman-Rakic, 1984; Jodo, Chiang, & Aston-Jones, 1998;
Rajkowski, Lu, Zhu, Cohen, & Aston-Jones, 2000). Given these wide pro-
jections throughout neocortex, the LC-NE system may be particularly
important in modulating representations in frontal cortex based on atten-
tional control demands (Aston-Jones & Cohen, 2005; Cohen, Aston-Jones,
& Gilzenrat, 2004). A great deal of recent research suggests that there is an
inverted-U relationship between LC tonic activity and performance on
various cognitive tasks such that at intermediate levels of tonic LC activity
attention is focused and performance is good. But at high or low levels of
tonic LC activity, attention is unfocused and performance is worse. Accord-
ingly, we (Unsworth & Robison, 2015b) have suggested that low WMC is
related to a dysregulation of LC activity such that low WMC individuals
demonstrate more fluctuations in tonic LC activity than high WMC
individuals. To examine this we utilized pretrial baseline pupil diameter as
an indirect index of tonic LC activity (Aston-Jones & Cohen, 2005; Eldar,
Cohen, & Niv, 2013; Gilzenrat, Nieuwenhuis, Jepma, & Cohen, 2010;
Rajkowski, Kubiak, & Aston-Jones, 1993) during a visual arrays change
detection task (Unsworth & Robison, 2015a). As shown in Fig. 7A, we
found that error trials especially for small set sizes (set sizes 1 and 2) were
associated with lower pretrial baseline pupil diameters than correct trials,
suggesting that prior to the occurrence of an error participants were in a
lowered alertness/arousal state. Additionally, we found that individual
differences in WMC were correlated with trial-to-trial fluctuations in
24 Nash Unsworth
(A)
Pre-trial Baseline pupil diameter (mm)
3.2
3.1
2.9
2.8
2.7
2.6
2.5
2.4
Correct Error
Response Type
(B)
3.7
High WMC
Pre-trial baseline pupil diameter (mm)
3.5
Low WMC
3.3
3.1
2.9
2.7
2.5
2.3
2.1
1.9
1 7 13 19 25 31 37 43 49 55 61 67 73 79 85 91 97 103 109 115 121 127 133 139 145 151 157
Trial
Figure 7 (A) Pretrial baseline pupil diameter for correct and error responses for set sizes
1 and 2 averaged together. Error bars reflect one standard error of the mean. (B) Pretrial
baseline pupil diameter across trials for a typical high and typical low working memory
capacity (WMC) individual.
pretrial baseline pupil diameter (r ¼ 0.35), suggesting that low WMC

individuals experienced more fluctuations in pupil diameter (and presum-
ably tonic LC levels) than high WMC individuals. Indeed, shown in
Fig. 7B are pretrial baseline pupil diameters for a typical high and typical
low WMC individual across the whole experiment. As can be seen, the
low WMC individual has more fluctuations (both high and low) in baseline
pupil diameter than the high WMC individual. Thus, fluctuations in arousal
can determine capacity at any given time. When arousal is optimal, capacity
will be at its maximum, but when arousal is too high or too low, capacity
will be reduced leading to reductions in performance (Kahneman, 1973).
This suggests the possibility that individual differences in AC abilities are
due to variation in LC-NE functioning which are linked to deficits in frontal
cortex. That is, the putative frontal deficits seen in low WMC individuals
(Kane & Engle, 2002) may be partially due to differences in LC-NE
functioning.
In addition to active maintenance of task- and goal-relevant information,
AC abilities are needed in a host of situations. For example, Kane and Engle
(2003) have argued that in WMC differences also arise in conflict resolution
where even if the task goal is maintained, low WMC individuals are less able
at resolving the conflict that arises between the task goal and more habitual
behaviors than high WMC individuals (see also Meier & Kane, 2013, 2015).
Additionally, low WMC individuals may experience broader deficits in AC
such as inabilities to configure attention to particular objects or spatial loca-
tions compared to high WMC individuals (Bleckley, Durso, Crutchfield,
Engle, & Khanna, 2003; Bleckley, Foster, & Engle, 2015). Furthermore,
low WMC individuals may have particular problems filtering out irrelevant
information (Vogel et al., 2005) which may be unrelated to lapses of atten-
tion and mind-wandering. For example, in a recent study we found that
both mind-wandering and filtering predicted WMC, but that mind-
wandering and filtering were unrelated and accounted for separate sources
of variance in WMC (Unsworth & Robison, 2016). Thus, fully delineating
the different components of AC abilities will be an important topic for
future research. For now it is clear that AC abilities are an important facet
of individual differences in WMC.
4.3 Secondary Memory

Although active maintenance of task- and goal-relevant information in PM
is a critical component of working memory, in some situations that informa-
tion will be lost from PM and will have to be retrieved from SM. In partic-
ular, when attention is removed from those representations in PM (due to
attentional capture from internal or external sources or new incoming infor-
mation), the representations will be displaced from PM and will have to be
retrieved from SM to ensure further processing. Thus, a critical aspect of
working memory and an important reason for individual differences in
WMC is the ability to retrieve and reactivate information that could not
be actively maintained in PM. Similar to prior research, we suggest that
the success of retrieval will depend on a number of control and monitoring
26 Nash Unsworth
processes that occur during encoding, retrieval, and postretrieval (Atkinson

& Shiffrin, 1968; Nelson & Narens, 1990; Raaijmakers & Shiffrin, 1980).
Specifically, we have relied on a simple search model where it is assumed
that there are both directed and random components to the overall search
process (Shiffrin, 1970). The directed component refers to those strategic
processes that are under the control of the individual. These control pro-
cesses include setting up a retrieval plan, selecting and utilizing appropriate
encoding strategies, selecting and generating appropriate cues to search
memory with, as well as various monitoring strategies and decisions to
continue searching or not. The random component refers to the probabi-
listic nature of the search process in which a subset of information is activated
by the cues (ie, the search set), and representations are subsequently sampled
and recovered from this subset (Raaijmakers & Shiffrin, 1980; Shiffrin,
1970). We have argued that individual differences in WMC primarily repre-
sent differences in the use of the various directed control processes that allow
for controlled interactions between PM and SM, and it is these control pro-
cesses that result in the relation between WMC and SM abilities.
Evidence for an association between WMC and SM abilities comes from
a number of studies which have shown strong relations at both the task and
latent levels. For example, low WMC individuals perform more poorly than
high WMC individuals on free recall (Unsworth, 2007, 2009a), cued recall
(Unsworth, 2009b), item recognition (Unsworth, 2010a; Unsworth &
Brewer, 2009), and source recognition (Unsworth, 2010a; Unsworth &
Brewer, 2009). These differences are especially pronounced on tests that
require self-initiated processing (Unsworth, 2009c). Furthermore, several
studies have suggested that WMC differences in SM abilities partially ac-
count for the shared variance between WMC and gF (eg, Mogle, Lovett,
Stawski, & Sliwinski, 2008; Unsworth, 2010a; Unsworth, Brewer, &
Spillers, 2009; Unsworth et al., 2014). Indeed, as a further demonstration
of the robustness of the SM relation with WMC and gF, shown in Fig. 8
is a confirmatory factor analysis examining data from 578 participants in
our laboratory. As can be seen, delayed free recall, picture source recogni-
tion, and paired associates all loaded onto the same latent SM factor, and
this factor was strongly correlated with WMC and gF. Additionally, we
have found that WMC predicts a number of different everyday memory fail-
ures including forgetting information on an exam or homework and forget-
ting login or ID information (Unsworth, McMillan, Brewer, & Spillers,
2013). Thus, it is clear that there is a strong and important relation between
individual differences in WMC and remembering from SM.
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Title: The French Revolution
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE

FRENCH REVOLUTION ***
UNIVERSITY EXTENSION MANUALS
EDITED BY PROFESSOR KNIGHT
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
GENERAL PLAN OF THE SERIES.
This Series is primarily designed to aid the University Extension

Movement throughout Great Britain and America, and to supply the
need so widely felt by students, of Text-books for study and
reference, in connection with the authorised Courses of Lectures.
Volumes dealing with separate sections of Literature, Science,
Philosophy, History, and Art have been assigned to representative
literary men, to University Professors, or to Extension Lecturers
connected with Oxford, Cambridge, London, and the Universities of
Scotland and Ireland.
The Manuals are not intended for purposes of Elementary
Education, but for Students who have made some advance in the
subjects dealt with. The statement of details is meant to illustrate the
working of general laws, and the development of principles; while the
historical evolution of the subject dealt with is kept in view, along with
its philosophical significance.
The remarkable success which has attended University Extension in
Britain has been partly due to the combination of scientific treatment
with popularity, and to the union of simplicity with thoroughness. This
movement, however, can only reach those resident in the larger
centres of population, while all over the country there are thoughtful
persons who desire the same kind of teaching. It is for them also that
this Series is designed. Its aim is to supply the general reader with
the same kind of teaching as is given in the Lectures, and to reflect
the spirit which has characterised the movement, viz. the
combination of principles with facts, and of methods with results.
The Manuals are also intended to be contributions to the Literature
of the Subjects with which they respectively deal, quite apart from
University Extension; and some of them will be found to meet a
general rather than a special want.
The
French Revolution
BY
CHARLES EDWARD MALLET

Late of Balliol College, Oxford
Lecturer in History on the Staff of the Oxford University Extension
LONDON
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET

1893
Oxford
HORACE HART, PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY
CONTENTS
PAGES
Introductory 1-4
CHAPTER I.
The Condition of France in the
5-27
Eighteenth Century
The old Monarchy in France.—Survivals of
free institutions.—Centralised despotism of
the Crown.—The Intendant's position and
powers.—Evils of the system.—The
Government sensitive to criticism but all-
pervading.—Class divisions.—The nobles
and their privileges.—The ruined nobles of
the provinces and the rich nobles of the
Court.—The Church, and the great varieties
of condition in it.—The Middle Class, its
privileges and exemptions.—Usurpations
and spirit of the guilds.—Position of the
poorest class in town and country.—
Peasant owners, farmers and métayers.—
Feudal oppression from which the peasant
suffered.—Exactions of the Government.—
Abuses in the system of taxation.—The
Custom-house system and its results.—
Increase of vagrancy and disorder.—
Isolation of the labourer.
CHAPTER II.
The Last Years of the Ancien
28-54
Régime
The intellectual revolt of the eighteenth
century.—Repudiation of authority and
dogma.—Rise of the new political
philosophy.—The literary leaders.—
Montesquieu.—Voltaire.—Diderot and the
Encyclopaedists.—Defects of their theory.—
Helvetius and Holbach.—The Economists.
—Morelly.—Rousseau.—Reasons for
Rousseau's influence.—The Contrat Social,
its doctrines and defects.—Universality of
the philosophical and humanitarian spirit in
Europe.—Its effects upon politics and
society in France.—Its effects plainly visible
in the Government, in Louis XVI, Turgot and
Necker.—The Government begins to
undertake large reforms.—Progress of
Louis' reign.—Marie Antoinette and
Calonne.—The Notables of 1787.—
Loménie de Brienne and the struggle with
the Parlements.—Resistance to the
Government.—The Assembly of Vizille.—
Recall of Necker, and summoning of the
States-General.—Hesitating policy of the
Government.—Rules for the General
Election.—Questions as to the numbers of
the Tiers-État, and as to the union or
separation of the three Orders.—
Irresolution of Necker.
CHAPTER III.
The Early Days of the
55-70
Revolution
Meeting of the States-General.—The
Commons insist on the separation of the
three Orders.—Deadlock for six weeks.—
The Commons constitute themselves the
National Assembly on the 17th June.—The
Tennis Court Oath.—The Royal Sitting of
the 23rd June.—Ascendency of the Court
party.—Dismissal of Necker.—Rising in
Paris and capture of the Bastille.—Grave
disorder in France, and the two main
causes of it.—Various motives of the risings
in the country.—Complete collapse of the
regular authorities.—Spontaneous
organisation of the electors.—Unfortunate
policy of the Assembly.—Its inexperience
and susceptibility.—Abstract discussions of
July and August.—The 4th August.—
Difficulties of Bailly and Lafayette in Paris.
—Fresh causes of discontent there.—The
outbreak of the 5th October, and its results.
CHAPTER IV.
The Labours of the
71-97
Constituent Assembly
Inclination of the Assembly to follow out its
theories blindly without regard to
consequences.—Hopes of a strong
Government frustrated by the decree of the
7th November.—Results of that decree.—
Jealousy of the Executive.—New system of
local government.—Its defects.—Power
concentrated in the new municipalities.—
Burdensome nature of the duties imposed
on active citizens.—The two decrees
imposing qualifications for the franchise and
for office.—Judicial reforms.—Military and
naval changes.—The Assembly's
determination to make everything elective.
—Church policy.—Confiscation of Church
property.—Civil Constitution of the Clergy.—
Criticism of it.—Consequences of the
schism in the Church.—Financial policy of
the Assembly.—Necker's measures.—
Increasing embarrassments of the State.—
Origin of the Assignats.—Their subsequent
history and depreciation.—Inadequate
attempts made by the Assembly to balance
its income and expenditure.—Its cowardly
finance.—Criticism of its action.
CHAPTER V.
Parties and Politicians under
98-128
the Constituent Assembly
No real party-government in the Assembly.
—Gradual formation of parties.—The
Conservative Right and its various groups.
—Maury and Cazalés.—Mounier, Malouet
and their friends.—The party of Reform.—
Bailly, Sieyès, Talleyrand, Lafayette,
Mirabeau, and others.—Duport, Barnave
and Lameth.—Robespierre and the
extreme Left.—Predominance of the
democratic party outside the Assembly.—
The Cordeliers, the Jacobins and other
clubs.—The birth of modern journalism.—
Prominent journalists and newspapers.—
Mirabeau and Barère.—Brissot, Loustallot
and Camille Desmoulins.—Marat and the
Ami du Peuple.—Royalist journals.—Mallet
du Pan and the Mercure.—Important
politicians of this period.—Philippe of
Orleans.—Necker.—The Comte de
Provence.—Lafayette.—Mirabeau.—
Mirabeau's exceptional insight and ability.—
His aims and attitude from the first.—His
desire to establish a strong, popular
Government.—His vain attempts to win
Lafayette.—His ascendency in the
Assembly.—His notes for the Court and
plans for reconciling the Crown with the
Revolution.—Summary of his character.
CHAPTER VI.
The Rise of the Jacobin Party 129-154
The Revolution consists of two separate
movements, one mainly political, the other
mainly social.—Pause in the Revolution in
1791.—Apathy of the majority of voters.—
Classes which had not gained what they
expected from the Revolution.—Distress
among the artisans and labourers.—
Illogical position of the Constitutional party.
—Causes of its unpopularity with the poor.
—The Jacobin theory.—Its results in
practice.—Its triumph secured by violence.
—Various causes of disorder.—Increase of
the influence of force in politics.—Numbers
of the Jacobin party.—Its complete
organisation.—Growth of Jacobin clubs.—
Organisation of the Commune of Paris.—
Influence of the active Sections.—Rise of
Robespierre.—His character and policy.—
Results of the King's flight to Varennes.—
Attitude of the Jacobin Club.—The
'Massacre of the Champ de Mars.'—Rally of
the Constitutional party.—Barren results of
their success.—Reviving influence of the
Jacobins.—Visible in the Elections.—
Critical state of the Revolution at the end of
1791.
CHAPTER VII.
The Influence of the War upon
155-181
the Revolution
Attitude of the European Powers towards
the Revolution.—Catherine of Russia.—
Gustavus of Sweden.—Joseph of Austria.—
Frederick William of Prussia.—Spain and
England.—Trouble in Poland and the East.
—Accession of Leopold.—His policy.—The
French Emigrants.—Their activity in
Europe.—Condé's Army.—Leopold's views
on French affairs.—The 'august comedy' of
Pillnitz.—Meeting of the Legislative
Assembly in Paris.—Appearance of the
Girondist party.—Objects of the Republican
minority in the legislature.—War policy of
the Girondists.—Their leaders.—Decrees of
the autumn against emigrants and priests.
—Ministry of Narbonne.—Policy of the
Jacobins with regard to the war.—The
Girondists in office.—Declaration of war.—
Its momentous results.—Course of events
down to the 20th June, 1792.—Lafayette's
last attempt to save the Court.—
Brunswick's Manifesto.—The 10th August.
—Danton in power.—Advance of the Allies.
—The prison massacres of September.—
Responsibility for them.—Battle of Valmy.—
Retreat of the Allies.—General results of
the Revolutionary war.
CHAPTER VIII.
The Fall of the Gironde 182-207
The Elections of 1792.—Parties in the
Convention.—The Girondists and their
advisers.—Madame Roland.—The part
played by women in the French Revolution.
—Difference between the Girondists and
the Jacobins.—Rather one of conduct than
of principle.—No place in the Revolution for
the Girondists as a separate party.—Their
only distinctive characteristics an idealised
republicanism and a policy of war.—
Beginning of the struggle between the two
parties.—Trial and death of the King.—
Demoralisation of politics.—The Girondists
lose ground, especially in Paris.—The war
after Valmy.—Dumouriez' defeat at
Neerwinden.—His desertion.—Important
decrees of the Convention in the spring of
1793, preparing the instruments of the
Terror.—Economic measures.—Growth of
the influence of the Jacobins.—Rising in La
Vendée.—Organisation of the Jacobin
forces.—The Girondists, unprepared but
alarmed, attack the Jacobins in April and
May.—Warnings of Dutard.—State of
feeling in Paris.—Arrest of Hébert and
Jacobin rising.—The 31st May and 2nd
June.—Dangers of the Jacobin
Government.—Its success on all sides.—
Fate of the Girondists and others.
CHAPTER IX.
The Jacobins in Power 208-235
The Constitution of '93.—Conflict between
Jacobin theory and Jacobin practice.—The
Constitution suspended.—Intimidation of
the Convention.—Services of its
Committees to the cause of reform.—The
Revolutionary Government in Paris and in
the provinces.—The Committee of Public
Safety.—Its members, its divisions and its
heroic work.—The Representatives on
Mission.—Varied character of their rule.—
Their violence and excesses.—Principles of
the Terrorists.—Influence of the Parisian
Commune.—Supremacy of the State
enforced in every relation of life.—The
State, in return for implicit obedience,
undertakes to provide for all its subjects.—
Its methods of doing this.—Attempts to fix
prices.—The Maximum ruthlessly enforced.
—Ruin resulting from these arbitrary
measures in industry and trade.—General
scarcity of food.—The State regulates
private conduct and family life.—Abolition of
the Christian faith and of the Christian era.
—Moral results.—The idealists of the
Terror.—Its practical agents.—Hébert and
his party.—License and cruelty of many
leading Terrorists.—General worthlessness
of their subordinates.—Blindness and self-
delusion of the best among them.—Entire
failure of the Terrorist ideal.
CHAPTER X.
The Struggle of Parties and
the Ascendency of 236-260
Robespierre
Ascendency of the party of the Commune.
—A second party, that of the Dantonists,
arises.—Danton's attitude.—His great
services to the Revolution.—His weariness
of faction and intrigue.—The third party,
represented by the Government of the day.
—Revolt against the Hébertists at the
Jacobin Club.-Headed by Robespierre and
Desmoulins.—The Vieux Cordelier.—Collot
d'Herbois' return to Paris in December,
1793, strengthens the Hébertists.—End of
the struggle.—Triumph of the Government
and fall of the two other parties in March,
1794.—Execution of Danton.—
Conspicuous position of Robespierre.—
Grounds of his popularity.—His intense
belief in himself.—His genuine sentiment.—
His lack of initiative and disingenuous
reserve.—His incompetence as a practical
politician.—His morbid suspiciousness.—
His strength.—His belief in the Terror and
attempts to regulate but not to check it.—
The Worship of the Supreme Being.—The
Law of the 22nd Prairial.—Robespierre's
struggle with his colleagues.—Triumph of
the Convention on the 9th Thermidor over
Robespierre and the Commune.
CHAPTER XI.
The Reaction 261-283
Results of the fall of Robespierre.—
Progress of the reaction against the Terror.
—The Mountain, the Right, and the
Thermidorians.—Fréron and the Jeunes
Gens.—Closing of the Jacobin Club.—
Arrest of Carrier.—Recall of the proscribed
deputies of the Right.—Measures with
regard to religion.—Arrest of Billaud, Collot
and others.—Distress in Paris.—
Breakdown of the economic system of the
Terror.—Survey of Terrorist finance.—
Embarrassments and expenses of the
Terrorist Government.—Cambon's remedial
measures.—Republicanisation of the
National Debt.—Decline of the Assignats.—
Impending bankruptcy at the end of 1794.—
Amount of Assignats in circulation.—Fresh
issues.—Their rapid decline.—Ruin and
distress resulting.—High prices of food.—
General dearth.—The insurrection of the
12th Germinal.—Measures of the reaction.
—The insurrection of the 1st Prairial.—
Suppression of the Jacobin party and
disarming of Paris.—Progress of the War.—
Spirit of the French army.—Representatives
on Mission with it.—Great soldiers in its
ranks.—Its reorganisation by Dubois-
Crancé.—Campaign of 1793.—Victories on
the Belgian frontier, on the Rhine and in La
Vendée.—The ten armies of the Republic.
—European politics.—Selfish views of
Thugut, the Austrian minister.—Jealousy
between Austria and Prussia.—Outbreak of
the Polish revolt.—Victories of the French in
Belgium and Holland.— Peace of Bâle.—
Prospects of a general peace and of a
Royalist restoration.—The reaction
checked.—Death of the Dauphin.—The
Quiberon Expedition.—The White Terror.—
The Constitution of the Year III.—The
decrees of Fructidor.—The insurrection of
the 13th Vendémiaire.—Establishment of
the Directory.—Conclusion.
Table of Dates 285-290
Appendix of Books 291-293
Index 295-307
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
INTRODUCTORY
I have not attempted in this small volume to write a history of the
French Revolution. The events of that dramatic narrative have been
sketched by many hands and are to be found in a hundred histories.
They hardly need retelling now. I have rather endeavoured, while
taking for granted some knowledge of the story, to supply what
handbooks generally have not space to give, and to collect in a
convenient form some of the information, the suggestions and ideas
which are to be found in larger books of comment and enquiry.
Works like those of M. de Tocqueville, M. Taine, M. Michelet, M.
Louis Blanc, and Professor Von Sybel are not always easily
obtained. Their cost and their length alike render them inaccessible
to those whom time and necessity compel to be superficial students.
I have therefore tried to summarise to a certain extent what these
and other writers tell us; to dwell on some economic and political
aspects of French society before the Revolution; to explain the more
obvious reasons why the Revolution came; to show why the men
who made it, failed, in spite of all their fine enthusiasm, to attain the
liberty which they so ardently desired, or to found the new order
which they hoped to see in France; to describe how, by what arts
and accidents, and owing to what deeper causes, an inconspicuous
minority gradually grew into a victorious party, and assumed the
direction of events; to point out in what way external circumstances
kept the revolutionary fever up, and forced the Revolution forward,
when the necessity for its advance seemed to many to be over, and
its own authors wished it to pause; and to make clearer, if I could, to
others, what has always been to me the mystery of the time, the real
character and aims of the men who grasped the supreme power in
1793-4, who held it with such a combination of energy and folly, of
heroism and crime, and who proceeded, through anarchy and terror,
to experiment how social misery could be extinguished and universal
felicity attained, by drastic philosophic remedies, applied by despots
and enforced by death. History offers no problem of more surpassing
interest, and none more perplexing or obscure.
I am not conscious of approaching the subject with a bias in favour
of any party. I have no cause to plead for or against any individual or
group of men. I have tried to read all sides, and to allow for those
deep-rooted prejudices which seem to make most Frenchmen
incapable of judging the event. But when, on the information before
me, the facts seem clear, I have not hesitated to praise, or censure,
or condemn. I will only add that I have considered very carefully the
judgments which I have expressed, though I cannot hope that they
will recommend themselves to all alike.
Books of this kind cannot well lay claim to much originality, and I do
not pretend to have kept pace with the constantly accumulating
literature, which the French press produces on this question every
year. I have used freely the works of such modern writers as M. de
Tocqueville, Mr. John Morley, Mr. Morse Stephens, and others, and
my obligations to them are plain. On M. Taine's great work, too, I
have drawn largely, and while allowing for bias in the author, and
while fully admitting that M. Taine's method tends to destroy one's
sense of proportion, and in some degree to give a blurred and
exaggerated impression of the facts, still I cannot question the
weight and value of the mass of information which he has collected,
and no one can fairly overlook the lessons which it tells. Besides
these books, I think I may say that I have read and consulted most of
the materials in histories, memoirs, biographies, and elsewhere,
which the many well-known French writers on the subject have
supplied, and I have paid particular attention to the voluminous
histories of M. Louis Blanc and of M. Mortimer-Ternaux, to the
correspondence of Mirabeau and La Marck, to the memoirs and
writings of Bailly, Ferrières, Mallet du Pan, Madame Roland, and M.
de Pontécoulant, to the biographies of the great Jacobin leaders,
especially those by M. Hamel and M. Robinet, and to the valuable
and important works of M. Sorel, of Professor Schmidt, and of
Professor Von Sybel. This list is not complete or comprehensive; but
I hope it is enough to justify the opinions which I have formed.
At the end, I have given, in a short appendix, a list of well-known
books upon the period, which may perhaps be of use to students,
who wish to go more fully into the subject for themselves.
CHAPTER I.
The Condition of France in the Eighteenth Century.
Historians have not yet determined where the French Revolution
properly begins. But even warring schools agree that the object of
that great movement, apart from its accidents and disappointed
dreams, was to destroy the ancient society of Europe, which
feudalism had founded and which time had warped, and to replace it
by a more simple social system, based, as far as possible, on
equality of rights. And therefore time can hardly be misspent in
endeavouring to retrace some of the chief features of the old
monarchy of France, at the moment when the feudal edifice was
crumbling, and when the storm was gathering which was to sweep it
away.
It was the pride of the later Bourbon kings to have accomplished the
design, which Louis XI bequeathed to Richelieu, and Richelieu
interpreted for Louis' successors, the substitution of a closely
centralised despotism, for feudal and aristocratic institutions on the
one hand, and for local and national liberties upon the other. By the
middle of the eighteenth century the triumph of this policy was
complete. The relics of the older system, indeed, remained. A
multitude of officials and authorities, with various and conflicting
claims, still covered the country, recalling in their origin sometimes
the customs of the Middle Ages, sometimes the necessities of the
Crown, sometimes the earlier traditions of freedom. Many of the
feudal seigneurs still claimed rights of jurisdiction and police. Cities
and towns still boasted and obeyed their own municipal
constitutions. The peasants of the country side were still summoned
to the church-porch by the village-bell, to take part in the election of
parish officials. A few noblemen still bore the name of governors of
provinces. Independent authorities with ancient titles still pretended
to deal with roads and with finance. The local Parlements, with their
hereditary and independent judges, maintained their dignity as
sovereign courts of justice, preserved the right of debating the edicts
of the King, adopted an attitude of jealous watchfulness towards the
Government and the Church, and exercised considerable
administrative powers. In a few outlying provinces, termed the Pays
d'État, and comprising, with some smaller districts, the ancient fiefs
of Languedoc, Burgundy, Brittany, Artois and Béarn, annual
assemblies, representing the nobles, clergy, and commons of the
province, still displayed the theory of self-government and retained
large taxative and administrative rights. The Church, with its vast
resources and strong, corporate feeling, still, in many matters,
asserted its independence of the State, administered its own affairs,
fixed its own taxes, and claimed to monopolise public education and
to guard public morals and their expression in the Press.
But amid the ruins of older institutions and the confusion of
innumerable conflicting rights, a new system of administration had
gradually grown up and had usurped all real authority in France. At
its head stood the King's Council, with its centre at Versailles. The
Council represented in all departments the monopoly of the State. It
was a supreme court of justice, for it had power to over-rule the
judgments of all ordinary courts. It was a supreme legislature, for the
States-General, the ancient representative Parliament of France,
had not been summoned since the early years of the seventeenth
century, and the local judicial Parlements, though they could discuss
the edicts of the Council, could not in the last resort resist them. It
was supreme in all matters of administration and finance. It governed
the country. It raised and assessed the taxes. In it one over-
burdened minister, the Comptroller-General, assumed responsibility
for all home affairs.
Under the Council, and responsible to it alone, there was stationed in
each of the thirty-two provinces or 'generalities' of the kingdom one
all-powerful agent called the Intendant. The Intendant was drawn,
not from the nobility, but from the professional class. He
superintended the collection and apportionment of all taxes which
were not farmed out by the Council to financial companies. He
decided in individual cases what remissions of taxes should be
allowed. He was responsible under the Council for constructing
highways and for all great public works[1]. He enforced the hated
duty of the militia service. He maintained order with the help of the
Maréchaussée or mounted police. He carried out the police
regulations of the local authorities and the more imperious and
comprehensive regulations issued from time to time by the Council.
He possessed in exceptional cases large judicial powers. As the
ordinary judges were independent of the Crown, the Council
multiplied extraordinary tribunals and reserved for their consideration
all suits in which the rights of the Crown were even remotely
concerned. In such cases the Intendant acted as judge both in civil
and in criminal matters, and from his judgment an appeal lay to the
Council alone. This practice, once established, was of course
extended and often abused in the interests of power, for the
principles of the ordinary courts, the Intendants confessed, could
'never be reconciled with those of the Government.'
Besides this, the Intendant was a benefactor too. He repressed
mendicity and arrested vagabonds. He distributed the funds, which,
in the absence of any legal provision for the poor, and in the
abandonment by the seigneurs of the old feudal duty of providing for
their destitute dependents, the Council annually apportioned for the
purpose. He controlled the charitable workshops which the Council
annually set up. In times of scarcity it was he who must find food for
the people, or, if food were not forthcoming, suppress the riots which
the want of it provoked. In the country districts the Intendant
dispensed his lofty patronage to farmers and encouraged agricultural
improvements. In the villages, though the force of ancient custom
still drew the inhabitants to village-meetings, these meetings could
not be held without the Intendants leave; they retained only the
academic privilege of debate; and when they elected their syndic
and collector, they often elected merely the Intendant's nominees.
Even in the towns which possessed municipal freedom, the
Intendant constantly interfered in all matters of importance and in
many little matters of detail, and the burghers protested their eager
submission to 'all the commands of his Greatness.' In each of the
provinces of France the Intendant represented the omnipotence and
wielded the authority of Government; the commands which he
received from the Comptroller-General he dictated in turn to a staff of
agents termed Sub-Delegates, and dependent on him; and these
Sub-Delegates, distributed through the different cantons of the
province, carried out their Intendant's orders, assisted his designs,
and were responsible only to their superior, as he was responsible to
the Council at Versailles.
It is not difficult to see the evils of such a system. The excessive
centralisation of the Government and the vast scope of its powers
threw upon the Comptroller-General and his agents a heavy burden
of detail. Reports and documents multiplied. The waste of time and
effort was profuse. 'The administrative formalities,' declared the
Council in one of its minutes, 'lead to infinite delays.' Any little local
matter—the building of a shelter for the poor, the repairing of a
corner of the village church—must be considered by the Minister at
Versailles. No action could be taken until the Sub-Delegate had
reported to the Intendant, the Intendant had reported to the
Comptroller-General, and that harassed official—combining in his
single person all the duties and perplexities which in England are
distributed between the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Home
Secretary, the Minister of Agriculture, the President of the Board of
Trade, the President of the Local Government Board and the Chief
Commissioner of Works—had personally attended to the matter, and
had transmitted his decision through the Intendant to the Sub-
Delegate again. Moreover, apart from its vexatious delays, the
system was very liable to abuse. The power of the Government's
agents was as extended as the power of the Government itself.
Arrest and imprisonment were counted among their ordinary
weapons. Armed with all the authority of the State, it was no wonder
if they sometimes imitated its arbitrary ways, and failed to separate
their private inclinations and their private grudges from the public
needs.
Yet the action of the central Government in the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries seems to have been often hesitating and rarely
deliberately harsh. The letter of the law was often barbarous and
rigid, where its administration was easy and lax. To criticism the
Government was not indisposed to listen. Its intentions were amiable
and were recognised as such. Any man above the rank of the lowest
class could protest, if treated unjustly, and he could generally make
his protest heard. The shadow of an older liberty had not quite
departed from the face of France. It was only the lowest and most
miserable class, which needed the means of resistance most, which
had no means of resisting except by force. But beneficent as were
the aims of the all-pervading State, its influence was blighting.
Leaning always upon their Government, and taught to look to it for
initiative, encouragement, protection in every department of life, the
people of France forgot both the practices of public freedom and the
value of private independence; and as the Bourbon despotism
directly paved the way for revolution by levelling many of those
inequalities which save a State, so it left the vast majority of
Frenchmen devoid both of the political understanding and of the
sense of personal responsibility, which the habit of self-government
alone creates.
More fatal, however, to national prosperity, were the deep divisions
which separated classes—divisions maintained and emphasized by
privileges obviously unjust. The nobility, the clergy, the middle class,
each formed a distinct order in the State, with its own defined rank
and prerogatives. The nobles, who have been roughly estimated at
about one hundred and forty thousand persons, formed a separate
caste. All born noble remained noble, and not even younger sons
descended into the ranks of the commons. The nobles owned
perhaps a fifth part of the soil, and they retained the ancient rights
attached to it, which had once been the reward of their feudal
obligations, but which survived when those obligations had long
ceased to be obeyed. Fines and dues, tolls and charges, the sole
right of hunting, of shooting, of fishing, of keeping pigeons and
doves, the privilege of maintaining the seigneurial mill and wine-
press, the seigneurial slaughter-house and oven—helped to support
the noble's dignity and to swell his income. The more his actual
power departed, the more he clung to his hereditary rights. When the
Government usurped his place as local ruler, he only entrenched
himself more jealously in his feudal position. He never met his
neighbours, for there were no public concerns to unite them, and all
business was in the Government's hands. He lost all interest in local
affairs. If he were rich, he went to live in Paris or Versailles. If he
were poor, he shut himself up in his country-house, and consoled
himself with the contemplation of his pride. But in return for the
powers of which it stripped him, the Government conferred on the
nobleman privileges which completed his isolation from those around
him. He and he alone could be the companion of his Sovereign. He
and he alone could rise to high place in the Army or the Church. He
and his dependents were exempted from oppressive duties like
serving in the militia or working on the roads. He knew nothing of the
terrible burden of taxation which crippled and oppressed the poor.
He was generally exempted from paying the Taille, the most grievous
of all the taxes; and even those imposts—the Poll-tax and the
Vingtièmes—to which he was subject, were collected from him in a
specially indulgent manner. The greater a man's wealth or station,
the better was his chance of securing easy terms. The Government's
agents felt bound to act 'with marked consideration' in collecting the
taxes of people of rank. 'I settle matters with the Intendants,' said the
Duke of Orleans, the richest man in France, 'and pay just what I
please.'
Yet within this privileged order the differences of life were marked.
Before the end of the eighteenth century many of the old families
were ruined, and lived in the narrowest circumstances, upon
incomes of a hundred, of fifty, even of twenty-five pounds a year,
rigidly clinging to the titles and immunities which alone distinguished
them from the poor, driven by necessity to exact from the peasants
all that custom allowed them, and subsisting chiefly on the sinister
pomp of caste. In striking contrast to the ruined nobles of the
provinces was the much smaller and more brilliant body which
composed the Court. No nobleman lived in the country, who could
afford to live at Paris or Versailles. Not to be seen at Court was
equivalent to obscurity or disgrace. The nobles of La Vendée
incurred the Government's displeasure by their obstinate adherence
to their country homes and their lamentable unwillingness to perform
their duties about the person of the King. Yet the nobles of La
Vendée were the only part of the French aristocracy, which in the
days of the Revolution died fighting for the Crown.
At Court the leaders of society set the wild example of extravagance.
It is difficult to exaggerate the pomp and profusion of Versailles.
Every prince and princess had a separate establishment with its
dependents multiplied in proportion to its owner's rank. The Queen's
household numbered all but five hundred persons, the Comte
d'Artois' almost seven hundred, the King's a thousand in the civil
department alone[2]. It was the distinction of the Grand Seigneurs in
those days—common minds imagine that it distinguishes their
imitators now—to ignore the value of money. In this respect the King
outshone all the Grand Seigneurs of his Court. Louis XIV spent thirty
millions sterling on a single palace. His successor squandered three
millions on a single mistress. Pensions, sinecures, allowances, were
scattered with a lavish hand. When Necker first took office, the
charges on the pension-list exceeded two millions and a quarter. The
Duke of Orleans, with an income of a quarter of a million, received a
large pension from the Crown, and died nearly six millions in debt.
The art of spending money was one secret of the art of pleasing, and
nowhere was the art of pleasing studied with more finish or success.
In the charmed circle of that dazzling, polished Court, pleasure
marched with a stately and unflagging step. Courtesy ordained that
everyone should be agreeable, witty, light-hearted and well-bred. But
the unceasing chase of pleasure, though attended by excellent
graces, banishes all thought of others while it veils egotism with
delight, and the fortunate who entered there naturally forgot the
misery which reigned among the unfortunate outside[3].
Beside the privileged order of nobility stood the privileged
corporation of the Church. Like the nobles, the Church owned vast
landed estates, which covered about a fifth part of France, and which
in many cases were managed well. Like the nobles, the dignitaries of
the Church retained the ancient feudal rights which had survived
from the days when they governed the country, besides a variety of
dues and charges, and their special prerogative—the tithe. Like the
nobles, they evaded the weight of taxation. The assembly of the
clergy, meeting every five years, negotiated with the Crown its own
contributions to the Exchequer, and obtained numberless
concessions from the local authorities, wherever its interests were
touched. Moreover, the Church still enjoyed political power. No one
in France had a legal right to live outside its pale. It controlled the
schools; it kept the parish registers, on which a man's title to his
property and his name depended; for the sake of Catholic truth it
burned its adversaries; and, through its censorship of the Press, it
silenced all assailing tongues.
Then too, like the nobility, the Church offered many contrasts of
condition. The great prelates who lived at Court maintained with all
the lavishness of laymen the well-bred profusion of the place. Their
wealth rivalled that of princes. The Archbishop of Cambrai was the
feudal suzerain of seventy-five thousand people, lord of the town of
Cambrai, patron of two great abbeys, and a Duke and Count to boot.
The ecclesiastical income enjoyed by M. de Brienne, Archbishop of
Toulouse, besides his ministerial salary and pension, is stated to
have exceeded, according to a modern standard, fifty-four thousand
pounds. The Archbishop of Rouen, apart from his episcopal
revenues, drew from his abbeys twenty thousand pounds a year.
The Bishop of Troyes received penitents in confessionals lined with
white satin. M. de Rohan, hereditary Bishop of Strasbourg, held a
splendid Court in his great palace at Saverne, and exalted the dignity
of a prince of the Church by having all his saucepans made of silver.
When one contrasts with this delicate existence the condition of the
vast majority of parish priests, whose plebeian birth shut on them the
door to preferment, who lived, often in ruined and neglected
parsonages, in the abandoned country districts, with no educated
friends about them, dispensing the meagre charities of the august
superiors who could not leave the Court to visit them, and supporting
the lofty pretensions of the Catholic Church on incomes of forty, of
twenty, and of sixteen pounds a year, one ceases to wonder that the
priests abhorred a lot, which 'made even the stones and beams of
their miserable dwellings cry aloud,' and that, when the day of
retribution came, they welcomed the destroyer, and refused to lift a
finger to defend the existing system in the Church of France.
Apart, however, from the advantages of rank, the middle class had
its privileges and exemptions too. Some enjoyed immunities as
servants of the Government; others, as members of powerful
corporations; others, again, of a lower grade, driven from the country
districts by the exactions of the Government and by the demands of
the seigneurs, who insisted on their tribute while they disdained their
company, took refuge in the towns, and there formed a caste of their
own. In early times, most of the important towns in France had
possessed two governing assemblies, one composed of magistrates
and officials, who owed their offices originally to popular election and
afterwards to purchase from the Crown, the other composed
originally of all the towns-people and afterwards of local 'notables'
representing the different companies and guilds. By the end of the
eighteenth century, however, the popular spirit, which had once
given life to all these institutions, had long died out. The municipal
officers bought their places from the Government, and handed them
down from father to son. The representative assembly had ceased to
represent any but the substantial burghers of the town. What had
once been public honours conferred by the voices of free citizens
had everywhere crystallised into private rights, the prerogative of one
class or of a few important families.
Accordingly, the possessors of these rights were bribed to uphold the
existing order by a thousand little dignities and exemptions, in which
relief from taxation played a large part, and they maintained the pride
of their position by drawing a jealous line between themselves and
the unrepresented artisans below. The guilds, originally created to
foster, still survived to fetter the commerce of the towns. But in
process of time these guilds had been multiplied for every branch of
trade; the privilege of managing them had been in most cases
usurped or bought by a narrow group of members; and the fees and
rules which they imposed tended readily to further class-interests
and class-divisions. All artisans who were not the sons of masters,
went by the name of 'strangers,' and found innumerable barriers
placed in the way of their advancement. The passion for place,
which to some observers seems inherent in the French middle class,
was sedulously encouraged by Ministers, who, by multiplying small
posts and dignities, filled the Exchequer, appeased complaints, and
won supporters. Each of these little places carried its special
perquisites and distinctions; and thus, in the minds of thousands, the
aspiration to possess some petty advantage over their neighbours
tended to oust the larger aspirations which might have led to public
freedom. In one small town the notables were divided into thirty-six
distinct bodies, with different rights and degrees. Every tradesman
delighted in a special mark of rank. The owner of a shop sat on a
higher seat than his assistants. The tailor could wear only one buckle
to his wig, while the proud apothecary might boast of three. On one
occasion the periwig-makers of La Flèche ceased working in a body,
in order to show their 'well-founded grief occasioned by the
precedence granted to the bakers.' The evils begotten of caste and
privilege could hardly be carried to more ludicrous extremes.
But while each of the educated classes thus possessed its
distinguishing marks to arm revolution and to point hatred, one class,
the lowest, had nothing but the privileges of its superiors to mark its
position in the State. In the towns the great majority of the labouring
community were excluded by the guild monopolies from any
prospect except that of perpetual subjection. Their wages, both in
town and country, were but little more than half of what they earn to-
day, while the purchasing power which those wages represented
was very much less. And if the outlook in the towns was gloomy,
their situation in the country was infinitely worse. It was there that the
people felt most nearly the relentless assiduity of life. Everyone
knows La Bruyère's picture of the wild-looking peasantry of France,
their faces blackened by want and toil and sun, the slaves of the soil,
at which they laboured with such unconquerable patience, who
'seemed just capable of speech, and when they stood erect
displayed the lineaments of men.' Their dwellings were often
windowless cabins, their clothing a rough woollen covering, their
food buckwheat and chestnuts and the coarsest bread. And yet
these unfortunate beings were in many cases the owners of the soil
they tilled. The passionate love of the land, which distinguishes the
French peasant of our own day, was not taught him by the
Revolution. For generations before it his one object of ambition, the
only aim which made it worth his while to live, had been the hope of
acquiring a portion of the land he worked upon. Living wretchedly, he
yet kept that object steadily in view. For that end he hoarded and
toiled and starved. The impoverished gentry came easily to terms;
and thus an immense number of small holdings sprang up almost
imperceptibly in France, estimated by the genial, observant eyes of
Arthur Young to cover as much as 'one-third of the kingdom.'
By the side of these small properties, which tended to grow smaller
under a process of incessant sub-division, lay the large estates of
the nobles, the clergy, the magistrates and financiers. In some cases
these estates were farmed on a large scale by tenants holding
leases at a money-rent, and in the North these farms were numerous
and answered well. But the backwardness and the want of capital,
which blighted all French agriculture in the eighteenth century,
helped to render farm-leases unpopular, and most large proprietors
fell back on the system of Métayage, or farming at half profits, under
which the landlord supplied and stocked the land, while the labourer
gave his labour, and the profits were shared between the two. In
Anjou, where the landlords resided on their estates, knew their
Métayers personally, and supervised their labours, this system
prospered. But in much the greater part of France the Métayers were
left to themselves by the landlords, and struggled on in the greatest
distress, without enterprise, without capital, often deeply in debt,
hardly making enough to yield them the bare means of subsistence,
and loath to exert themselves to swell the profits, which they had to
divide with a master, who neither knew nor cared for them. 'The
Métayer,' says a compassionate seigneur, 'is kept in an abject state
by men who are not at all inhuman, but whose prejudices ... lead
them to regard him as a different species of being.' Before the
outbreak of the Revolution, serfdom, except in some outlying
districts, had been extinguished in France; but the condition of the
Métayer materially was little above the serf's. In some cases, it is
true, he had managed to purchase, independently of his Métairie, a
little plot of land of his own, which he cultivated with minute and
arduous attention; and in certain districts these plots of ground
repaid the toil spent on them, and taught their owners the self-
respect of ownership and the dignity which independence gives. But,
generally speaking, even these small allotments, numerous as they
were, were wretchedly unproductive, and the Métayers and day-
labourers who owned them shared the common depression of their
class.
Apart, however, from his bad farming and the poverty of his land, the
French peasant had worse troubles to encounter. The shadow of
feudalism still lay heavily across his path. Even where he was the
owner of the soil, he held it subject to innumerable dues and
charges, from which he could not escape and which he could not
redeem. Whenever the peasant's property changed hands, the
seigneur stepped in to claim his fine. On the roads and at the bridges
the seigneur claimed his tolls. At markets and fairs the seigneur
claimed his dues, and sold to the peasant the right to sell to others
the produce of his farm. Occasionally the seigneur still claimed the
peasant's time and labour for nothing. Everywhere the rights of the
seigneur compelled him to grind his wheat only at the feudal mill and
to crush his grapes only in the feudal wine-press. And even worse
than these claims was the scourge of the game-laws. The seigneur
alone could fish in the stream which flowed through the peasant's
farm. The seigneur alone could shoot the game which ruined the
peasant's crops. The seigneur alone could hunt over the peasant's
land. In the vast Capitaineries, which covered some four hundred
square leagues of territory in France, the deer and big game,
preserved for the sport of princes, wandered unchecked, devouring
the fields and vineyards of the inhabitants, and woe be to the
peasant who dared to interfere with their freedom! Every summer the
villagers in the neighbourhood of Fontainebleau, where the
Capitaineries stretched far, were compelled to organise watch
companies and to watch all night for six months in the year, in order
to save their vines and harvests from destruction. If the peasant
dared to dispute any of these rights, there were the seigneur's courts
to overawe him, to weary him out with incessant litigation, and to
teach him that, though he had ceased to be a serf, the seigneur was
his master still. Sometimes all these claims were sold by an
impoverished seigneur to a group of speculators, and the pity of
speculators is necessarily limited by considerations of gain. When
the seigneur had done with the peasant, the emissaries of the
Church stepped in, to take their tithe for spiritual purposes, and to
remind him how much he owed to them for the development of his
intellect and the guardianship of his soul.
But the Crown itself took a prominent part in the spoliation of the
poor. Adopting for public purposes the old feudal institution of the
Corvée, the Government summoned the peasants at certain
seasons of the year to leave their fields, without compensation, in

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Psychology of Learning and Motivation

65 1st Edition Brian H. Ross (Eds.)

Psychology of Learning and Motivation Volume 64 First

Advances in Psychology and Law Volume 2 1st Edition

Advances in Psychology and Law Volume 4 Brian H.

Motivation and learning strategies for college success

Motivation in education theory research and

A new narrative for psychology 1st Edition Brian Schiff

Moral Psychology with Nietzsche Brian Leiter

On Law and Justice First Edition Alf Ross Jakob V H

First edition 2016

Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

For information on all Academic Press publications visit our

Publisher: Zoe Kruze

The Many Facets of Individual

Psychology of Learning and Motivation, Volume 65

2. IMPORTANCE OF WORKING MEMORY

became clear that immediate memory, as initially conceptualized, was overly

particular, this work suggests that at an individual task level, measures of

et al., 2009), susceptibility to choking under pressure (Beilock & Carr,

3. A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR WORKING

memory tasks. In this view, as long as attention is allocated to these repre-

4. MULTIPLE FACETS INFLUENCE INDIVIDUAL

Machizawa (2004) demonstrated that sustained activity over posterior

analysis demonstrating that estimates of PM capacity from the different

to higher-order cognition (eg, Cowan et al., 2005, 2006; Fukuda, Vogel,

(Unsworth & Robison, 2015a). In that study we also examined individual

0.04 High WMC

-0.02 Time (ms)

measures of WMC correlate so well with measures of higher-order cogni-

4.2 Attention Control

Across a number of studies, individual differences in WMC have been

participants report mind-wandering during many cognitive tasks and that

variety of questions about whether they had just been mind-wandering.

on the task at hand. We found that mind-wandering and external distraction

pretrial baseline pupil diameter (r ¼ 0.35), suggesting that low WMC

4.3 Secondary Memory

processes that occur during encoding, retrieval, and postretrieval (Atkinson

Title: The French Revolution

Author: Sir Charles Edward Mallet

Release date: September 3, 2023 [eBook #71551]

Original publication: United Kingdom: John Murray, 1893

Credits: Brian Coe, Graeme Mackreth and the Online

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

GENERAL PLAN OF THE SERIES.

This Series is primarily designed to aid the University Extension

CHARLES EDWARD MALLET

JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET

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