ERIC Number: EJ807874
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008
Pages: 22
Abstractor: As Provided
Reference Count: 95
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-0663
Working Memory and Intelligence in Children: What Develops?
Swanson, H. Lee
Journal of Educational Psychology, v100 n3 p581-602 2008
This study explored the contribution of the phonological and executive working memory (WM) systems to 205 (102 girls, 103 boys, 6 to 9 years old) elementary school children's fluid and crystallized intelligence. The results show that (a) a 3-factor structure (phonological short-term memory [STM], visual-spatial WM, and verbal WM) was comparable between age groups, (b) controlled attention and STM storage accounted for 67% of the age-related variance in WM, (c) effect sizes for direct paths from WM were substantially larger when predicting fluid intelligence than crystallized intelligence, and (d) the contribution of STM to intelligence was isolated to reading. The results suggest that the development of WM is distinct from STM, controlled attention plus storage accounted for age-related WM changes, and WM underlies age-related changes in both fluid and crystallized intelligence. (Contains 6 footnotes, 6 tables, and 4 figures.)
Descriptors: Elementary School Students, Intelligence, Factor Structure, Short Term Memory, Effect Size, Cognitive Ability, Visual Perception, Spatial Ability, Verbal Ability, Age Differences, Attention, Cognitive Processes, Phonology
American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org/publications
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers: California

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