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The development of visuo-spatial working memory.

Susan J. Pickering¹

¹University of Bristol, UK.

Memory (Hove, England)

|December 19, 2001

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Children

Area of Science:

Developmental Psychology
Cognitive Neuroscience
Child Psychology

Background:

Children's visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM) performance significantly improves with age.
The underlying developmental mechanisms driving this improvement are not fully understood.
Phonological recoding is one proposed mechanism, particularly for verbally labelable stimuli, emerging around age 8.

Purpose of the Study:

To review and analyze the various factors contributing to age-related improvements in children's VSWM.
To explore mechanisms beyond phonological recoding that influence VSWM development.
To provide a comprehensive overview of current knowledge on VSWM development in children.

Main Methods:

Literature review synthesizing existing research on children's visuo-spatial working memory.

Related Experiment Videos

Analysis of developmental changes in cognitive functions related to VSWM.

Examination of the role of specific cognitive mechanisms in VSWM performance.

Main Results:

Phonological recoding contributes to VSWM development but does not fully explain age-related gains.
Other key mechanisms include the growth of knowledge, refinement of processing strategies, increased processing speed, and enhanced attentional capacity.
These factors interact to support the observed improvements in children's VSWM.

Conclusions:

Visuo-spatial working memory development in children is multifactorial.
Improvements are driven by a combination of phonological recoding and other cognitive advancements.
Understanding these diverse mechanisms is crucial for comprehending cognitive development.