Global processing speed as a mediator of developmental changes in children's auditory memory span.
This study examined the role of global processing speed in mediating age increases in auditory memory span in 5- to 13-year-olds. Children were tested on measures of memory span, processing speed, single-word speech rate, phonological sensitivity, and vocabulary. Structural equation modeling supported a model in which age-associated increases in processing speed predicted the availability of long-term memory phonological representations for redintegration processes. The availability of long-term phonological representations, in turn, explained variance in memory span. Maximum speech rate did not predict independent variance in memory span.
Ferguson
Angela N
AN
School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld 4072, Australia.
Bowey
Judith A
JA
D000293:Adolescent; D001307:Auditory Perception; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition; D015331:Cohort Studies; D006801:Humans; D008568:Memory; D010700:Phonetics; D011930:Reaction Time; D013060:Speech; D013068:Speech Production Measurement; D013997:Time Factors; D014705:Verbal Behavior; D014825:Vocabulary; D014888:Wechsler Scales