title: The Structure of Working Memory in Young Children and Its Relation to Intelligence.
abstract: This study investigated the structure of working memory in young school-age children by testing the fit of three competing theoretical models using a wide variety of tasks. The best fitting models were then used to assess the relationship between working memory and nonverbal measures of fluid reasoning (Gf) and visual processing (Gv) intelligence. One hundred sixty-eight English-speaking 7-9 year olds with typical development, from three states, participated. Results showed that Cowan's three-factor embedded processes model fit the data slightly better than Baddeley and Hitch's (1974) three-factor model (specified according to Baddeley, 1986) and decisively better than Baddeley's (2000) four-factor model that included an episodic buffer. The focus of attention factor in Cowan's model was a significant predictor ofGfandGv. The results suggest that the focus of attention, rather than storage, drives the relationship between working memory,Gf, andGvin young school-age children. Our results do not rule out the Baddeley and Hitch model, but they place constraints on both it and Cowan's model. A common attentional component is needed for feature binding, running digit span, and visual short-term memory tasks; phonological storage is separate, as is a component of central executive processing involved in task manipulation. The results contribute to a zeitgeist in which working memory models are coming together on common ground (cf. Cowan, Saults, & Blume, 2014; Hu, Allen, Baddeley, & Hitch, 2016).
authors.affiliation: Arizona State University, PO Box 870102, Tempe, AZ, US 85287-0102.
authors.forename: Shelley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.affiliation: Arizona State University, PO Box 870102, Tempe, AZ, US 85287-0102.
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Green
authors.affiliation: University of Arizona, PO Box 210071, Tucson, AZ, US 85721.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alt
authors.affiliation: MGH Institute of Health Professions, Charlestown Navy Yard, 36 1 Avenue, Boston, MA, US 02129.
authors.forename: Tiffany P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Hogan
authors.affiliation: Arizona State University, PO Box 870102, Tempe, AZ, US 85287-0102.
authors.forename: Trudy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kuo
authors.affiliation: Arizona State University, PO Box 870102, Tempe, AZ, US 85287-0102.
authors.forename: Shara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brinkley
authors.affiliation: University of Missouri-Columbia, 210 McAlester Hall, Columbia, MO, US 65211.
authors.forename: Nelson
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cowan
keywords: children; episodic buffer; nonverbal intelligence; phonological loop; visuospatial sketchpad; working memory