The Developmental Influence of Primary Memory Capacity on Working Memory and Academic Achievement

Autor/inn/en	Hall, Debbora; Jarrold, Christopher; Towse, John N.; Zarandi, Amy L.
Titel	The Developmental Influence of Primary Memory Capacity on Working Memory and Academic Achievement
Quelle	In: Developmental Psychology, 51 (2015) 8, S.1131-1147 (17 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0012-1649
DOI	10.1037/a0039464
Schlagwörter	Memory; Task Analysis; Recall (Psychology); Age Differences; Individual Differences; Reading Achievement; Mathematics Achievement; Predictor Variables; Academic Ability; Interference (Learning); Attention Control; Educational Attainment; Developmental Stages; Academic Achievement; Statistical Analysis; Elementary School Students; Regression (Statistics); Foreign Countries; United Kingdom + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Gedächtnis; Aufgabenanalyse; Abberufung; Age; Difference; Age difference; Altersunterschied; Individueller Unterschied; Leseleistung; Mathmatics sikills; Mathmatics achievement; Mathematical ability; Mathematische Kompetenz; Prädiktor; Aufmerksamkeitstest; Bildungsabschluss; Bildungsgut; Schulleistung; Statistische Analyse; Regression; Regressionsanalyse; Ausland; Großbritannien
Abstract	In this study, we investigate the development of primary memory capacity among children. Children between the ages of 5 and 8 completed 3 novel tasks (split span, interleaved lists, and a modified free-recall task) that measured primary memory by estimating the number of items in the focus of attention that could be spontaneously recalled in serial order. These tasks were calibrated against traditional measures of simple and complex span. Clear age-related changes in these primary memory estimates were observed. There were marked individual differences in primary memory capacity, but each novel measure was predictive of simple span performance. Among older children, each measure shared variance with reading and mathematics performance, whereas for younger children, the interleaved lists task was the strongest single predictor of academic ability. We argue that these novel tasks have considerable potential for the measurement of primary memory capacity and provide new, complementary ways of measuring the transient memory processes that predict academic performance. The interleaved lists task also shared features with interference control tasks, and our findings suggest that young children have a particular difficulty in resisting distraction and that variance in the ability to resist distraction is also shared with measures of educational attainment. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01