Age and skilled performance: contributions of working memory and processing speed
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Updated: Sep 28, 2026

Working Memory Training for Older Participants: A Control Group Training Regimen and Initial Intellectual Functioning Assessment
Published on: September 20, 2020
Susan Brigman1, Katie E Cherry
1Department of Psychology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803-5501, USA.
Abstract:
In this study, we examined the interrelationships among age, working memory (WM), processing speed, and the development of skilled performance. Younger (M=20.5) and older (M=68.9) adults were trained on an alphabet arithmetic task (Haider & Frensch, 1996) administered across three consecutive days. Although older adults were slower than younger adults, both age groups' response latencies decreased as a result of practice. Contrary to expectations, WM and processing speed were significantly correlated with performance late in training. Partial correlations suggested that age differences in performance at the end of training were mediated by individual differences in cognitive processing speed.
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