The Effect of the Interaction between Working Memory and Executive Attention on the Acquisition of Abstract Concepts among Secondary School Students

Abstract

This study examines the effect of the functional interaction between working memory and executive attention in explaining the acquisition of abstract concepts among secondary school students, within an integrative cognitive framework that conceptualizes learning as a dynamic process emerging from the interaction of multiple cognitive systems. The importance of this topic lies in addressing a central challenge in abstract learning, particularly in domains requiring complex symbolic processing such as mathematics and logic, where cognitive performance cannot be adequately explained through isolated variables but rather through the level of their functional integration. The study adopts a descriptive-analytical approach with a correlational explanatory design, employing multiple regression analysis to examine both direct and interaction effects among the variables. Data were collected from a sample of secondary school students using standardized instruments, including verbal and visual working memory tests, executive attention tasks such as the Stroop Test, and an achievement test measuring the level of abstract concept acquisition, while controlling for variables such as age and academic achievement. The results revealed a statistically significant correlation between working memory and executive attention, and both variables were found to contribute to predicting cognitive performance; however, the interaction effect between them was the strongest predictor of abstract concept acquisition, indicating that learning efficiency depends on the degree of integration between storage and cognitive regulation processes. The findings also demonstrated a mediating role of executive attention in enhancing the effectiveness of working memory during the processing of abstract information. These results support the development of an explanatory model that guides the design of educational strategies based on the integrated development of executive functions and calls for reconsidering curriculum design in alignment with the structural nature of cognitive learning.