The Effect of Working Memory Capacity on Calendar Savantism Performance: A Quantitative Study
Contributors
- Pareesa Zahid Research Scholar, Clinical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychology, GC University Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
- Dr. Rabia Iftikhar Assistant Professor, Clinical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychology, GC University Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
Abstract
Among the most reported savant skills is the ability to calculate the day of the week from a given date, known as “calendar calculation.” However, the cognitive resources required for this skill remain insufficiently quantified. The authors investigated how working memory (WM) capacity affects calendar savant performance in accuracy, speed, and solving complex calendar problems. This quantitative cross-sectional study involved 200 participants who provided working memory scores and three calendar performance scores. Pearson correlation examined relationships between subscales, simple linear regression evaluated individual data points against simple and complex predictions, multivariate regression examined predictions across low, medium, and high working memory groups, and one-way ANOVA assessed simple predictions across groups. All three outcomes were significantly predicted by working memory capacity. It explained 51.2% of accuracy variance (beta = .72, p < .001), 31.2% of speed variance (beta = −.56, p < .001), and 35.0% of complex calculation variance (beta = .59, p < .001). The high working memory group demonstrated larger effect sizes (eta squared = 0.30–0.38), achieving greater accuracy, faster responses, and better complex problem-solving than the medium and low groups. Accuracy effects were significantly larger than those for speed and complex calculation and remained robust against outliers, non-normality, and cross-validation. The three outcomes were no longer associated when working memory was controlled. These findings indicate that working memory capacity strongly predicts calendar calculation performance, which cannot be explained by rote memory alone. Future savant studies should evaluate working memory alongside calendar calculation skills.
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Corresponding Author
Dr. Rabia Iftikhar
Assistant Professor, Clinical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychology, GC University Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
Corresponding Author: [email protected]
