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The Microanalysis of Memory Span and Its Development in Childhood
Author(s) -
Cowan Nelson,
Saults J. Scott,
Nugent Lara D.,
Elliott Emily M.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
international journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.75
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1464-066X
pISSN - 0020-7594
DOI - 10.1080/002075999399684
Subject(s) - measure (data warehouse) , psychology , cognitive psychology , serial position effect , presentation (obstetrics) , working memory , span (engineering) , computer science , arithmetic , statistics , cognition , data mining , mathematics , free recall , neuroscience , recall , medicine , radiology , engineering , civil engineering
It is not clear from the literature why, as children develop, there are important increases in memory span, the number of just‐presented items that the participant can repeat in the correct serial order. To understand this, some recent results on capacity limits and processing rates were re‐analyzed. We first describe results using a conventional measure of performance in immediate memory tasks that is affected by the list length (proportion correct). Next we describe results using a less conventional measure (number correct) that is unaffected by list length under circumstances in which attention to the list during its presentation is curtailed. This measure can estimate an individual's limited‐capacity storage ability. Last, we examine measures of spoken response timing that do and do not change with list length. We show that unconventional measures that do not change with list length, but do change with development, are especially useful in assessing basic changes in information processing parameters, including increases in memory capacity and processing speed.