Investigating Construct Validity of Emotional Working Memory via the Cognitive–Emotional-Social Working Memory Training Package in 5th Grade Female Elementary School Students in Tehran

This study aimed to investigate construct validity of emotional working memory via the cognitive–emotional-social working memory training package in 5th grade female elementary school students in Tehran. The research employed a pretest-posttest and follow-up semi-experimental research design with the control group. The statistical population consisted of all 5th grade female students of Tehran during the academic year 2015-2016. Those students with working memory impairment were selected via multi-stage cluster random sampling using the Wechsler Software Working Memory Scale. Then, from among them, 40 students were randomly selected and divided into two 20-participant experimental and control groups. The cognitive-emotional-social working memory training was performed in 20 sessions for the experimental group. Before and after the intervention and two months later (follow up), participants answered to the Wechsler Software Working Memory Scale (Khodadadi, Mashhadi and Amani, 2009) and emotional working memory (Ladouceur, Silk, Dahl, Ostapenko, Kronhaus, & Phillips, 2009). The research data were analyzed using ANCOVA. According to the results of the study, the cognitive-emotional-social working memory training significantly improved the attention performance and emotional working memory (P > 0.01). As a result, emotional working memory enjoys acceptable construct validity.