Delineation of findings as benchmarks is presently not useful.

What is it about?

The paper comments on the procedure used to categorise empirical finding into findings that should be accounted for by new theoretical models and other findings that are considered to be less theoretically relevant. One set of critical considerations focuses on the a priori bias in selecting the findings. Another set of comments focuses on the drawbacks of this strategy for further development of our understanding of working memory phenomena.

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Why is it important?

Promotion of some findings as benchmarks entails the danger that further progress in the field is discouraged. Because we presently do not know which of several theoretical views is the best one, focusing on findings that are consistent with a presently dominant view may block the possibility of ever discovering the best explanation of the findings.

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