TY - JOUR
T1 - The structure of working memory in young children and its relation to intelligence
AU - Gray, Shelley
AU - Green, S.
AU - Alt, M.
AU - Hogan, T.
AU - Kuo, T.
AU - Brinkley, S.
AU - Cowan, N.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health NIDCD Grant # R01 DC010784 . We are deeply grateful to the staff, research associates, school administrators, teachers, children, and families who participated. Key personnel included (in alphabetical order) Shara Brinkley, Katy Cabbage, Cecilia Figueroa, Karen Guilmette, Trudy Kuo, Bjorg LeSueur, Annelise Pesch, and Jean Zimmer. Many students also contributed to this work including (in alphabetical order) Genesis Arizmendi, Lauren Baron, Alexander Brown, Gary Carstensen, Nora Schlesinger, Nisha Talanki, and Hui-Chun Yang.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier Inc.
Copyright:
Copyright 2016 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2017/2/1
Y1 - 2017/2/1
N2 - 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 of Gf and Gv. The results suggest that the focus of attention, rather than storage, drives the relationship between working memory, Gf, and Gv in 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).
AB - 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 of Gf and Gv. The results suggest that the focus of attention, rather than storage, drives the relationship between working memory, Gf, and Gv in 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).
KW - Children
KW - Episodic buffer
KW - Nonverbal intelligence
KW - Phonological loop
KW - Visuospatial sketchpad
KW - Working memory
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jml.2016.06.004
DO - 10.1016/j.jml.2016.06.004
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84978086113
SN - 0749-596X
VL - 92
SP - 183
EP - 201
JO - Journal of Memory and Language
JF - Journal of Memory and Language
ER -