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Phonological loop and central executive contributions to oral comprehension skills of 5.5 to 9.5 years old children
Author(s) -
Chrysochoou Elisavet,
Bablekou Zoe
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
applied cognitive psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.719
H-Index - 100
eISSN - 1099-0720
pISSN - 0888-4080
DOI - 10.1002/acp.1723
Subject(s) - psychology , comprehension , recall , vocabulary , working memory , cognitive psychology , short term memory , cognition , developmental psychology , linguistics , philosophy , neuroscience
Summary Oral story comprehension in 5.5, 7.5 and 9.5 year old children is examined in relation to working memory (WM) contributions. The phonological loop (PL) of the Baddeley and Hitch WM model was assessed with word, non‐word and digit recall and a word list matching task. The central executive (CE) was assessed with listening, counting and backward digit recall tasks. A composite score was calculated for each WM component. Receptive vocabulary and oral comprehension were also assessed. Regression analyses demonstrated CE contributions to oral comprehension overall, and also to comprehension sub‐skills (above any vocabulary contributions). Effects were stronger in preschoolers and decreased with age. The PL did not play an important role in oral comprehension. Comprehension control was the comprehension skill best predicted. The study demonstrates the CE importance in off‐line comprehension processes during early childhood and the usefulness of assessing CE processes for identifying possible comprehension difficulties later at school. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.