title: Mapping the developmental constraints on working memory span performance.
abstract: This study investigated the constraints underlying developmental improvements in complex working memory span performance among 120 children of between 6 and 10 years of age. Independent measures of processing efficiency, storage capacity, rehearsal speed, and basic speed of processing were assessed to determine their contribution to age-related variance in complex span. Results showed that developmental improvements in complex span were driven by 2 age-related but separable factors: 1 associated with general speed of processing and 1 associated with storage ability. In addition, there was an age-related contribution shared between working memory, processing speed, and storage ability that was important for higher level cognition. These results pose a challenge for models of complex span performance that emphasize the importance of processing speed alone.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom. donna@psy.uwa.edu.au
authors.forename: Donna M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Bayliss
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jarrold
authors.forename: Alan D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Baddeley
authors.forename: Deborah M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Gunn
authors.forename: Eleanor
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Leigh
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D001076:Aptitude; D001245:Association Learning; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D003071:Cognition; D003118:Color Perception; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D009949:Orientation; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D010897:Pitch Discrimination; D011930:Reaction Time; D012153:Retention, Psychology; D012858:Size Perception