Development of updating in working memory in 4–7-year-old children

Bibliographic Data

ID9796765
AuthorsChen Cheng (0000-0001-9419-6945, corresponding author), Melissa M Kibbe (0000-0002-9088-2523)
Year2022
Volume58
Issue5
Pages902-912
Publication date2022-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueDevelopmental Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0012-1649 • E-ISSN: 1939-0599
PublisherAmerican Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1037/dev0001337
PMID35311308
OpenAlexW4220789188
LanguageEN
Citations received7

Children live in a dynamic environment, in which objects continually change locations and move into and out of occlusion. Children must therefore rely on working memory to store information from the environment and to update those stored representations as the environment changes. Previous work suggests that the ability to store information in working memory increases through infancy and childhood. However, less is known about the development of the ability to update stored information. Participants were 63 4-7-year-old children (37 girls; 34 caregivers completed optional demographic forms, and those children were reported as Asian [one], Asian/White [four], Black [one], Middle East/Arab [one], or White [27]; two were Hispanic/Latinx). We asked children to keep track of arrays of hidden items that either remained where they were hidden (static trials) or swapped locations (swap trials) and then to identify from two alternatives which item was hidden in a particular location. We manipulated the number of items in the arrays and the number of times the items swapped locations in order to investigate how increasing storage and updating load impacted children's performance. We found that children's ability to update working memory developed significantly across our age range. Updating appeared to impose a significant one-time cost to working memory performance, regardless of the number of times items swapped. Our results yield new insights into the developmental trajectories of storage and updating in working memory across early childhood. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Child development · Cognition · Cognitive development · Cognitive psychology · Developmental psychology · MEDLINE · PsycINFO · Short-term memory · Working memory · Child Development and Digital Technology · Cognitive Functions and Memory · Psychology · Technology Use by Older Adults

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