Related Experiment Videos
[Formation of spatial short-term memory in 18-54-month old children]
M G Dashniani1, N Ts Chkhikvishvili, R I Aragveli
1Beritashvili Institute of Physiology, Georgian Academy of Sciences, Tbilisi, Georgia.
Insights
Children
Area of Science:
- Developmental psychology
- Cognitive neuroscience
- Child development
Context:
- Spatial short-term memory (SSTM) is crucial for cognitive development.
- Understanding SSTM development in early childhood is essential.
- The inverted delayed-response task (IDR) is a key assessment tool.
Purpose:
- To investigate the developmental trajectory of spatial short-term memory (SSTM) in children aged 18-54 months.
- To evaluate the impact of age and reference objects on SSTM performance using the inverted delayed-response task (IDR).
Summary:
- Younger children (18-24 months) struggled with the IDR task, often failing to locate objects.
- SSTM performance improved with age, with older children (48-54 months) showing significant success.
- Reference objects aided performance in children aged 24-54 months, but older preschoolers succeeded even without them.
Impact:
- This study elucidates distinct developmental stages of spatial short-term memory in early childhood.
- Findings provide valuable insights for educators and developmental psychologists.
- Establishes age-related benchmarks for SSTM development.
Abstract:
The development of the spatial short-term memory (SSTM) in children aged 18-54-months was assessed by performance of the inverted delayed-response task (IDR). A child perceived the localization of a target object in one of the two containers (left or right) situated on a table in front of the child. The distance between the containers was 30 cm. Then the child was escorted to the opposite side of the table so that the target object that was earlier in the left container seemed to be in the right one. After the rotation, in 74% of cases children at the age of 18-24-months failed to localize the object correctly despite the presence of various reference objects in the room. Percent of correct responses increased with age. Children aged 24-54-months performed the IDR better in the presence of reference objects than in their absence. The preschool children at the age of 48-54-months correctly localized the object in 70% of cases even in the absence of the experimental reference objects. The results of this experiment demonstrate the stages of the SSTM development in children.