Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 2, 2025
10:38
A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions
Published on: July 16, 2015
13.7K
Proactive interference and the development of working memory
Mollie Hamilton1, Ashley Ross1, Erik Blaser1
1Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews. Cognitive Science
|February 22, 2022
Summary
Children
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Memory Research
Background:
- Working memory (WM) capacity is limited, often attributed to proactive interference (PI).
- PI occurs when irrelevant prior information interferes with current task demands.
- The role of PI in early childhood WM development is under-explored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To integrate existing literature on proactive interference (PI) and working memory (WM) capacity in development.
- To propose that improved PI resolution is a key factor in the development of WM capacity in children.
- To highlight methodological considerations in assessing children's WM capacity.
Main Methods:
- Review of adult proactive interference (PI) literature spanning over 60 years.
- Integration of recent findings linking PI coping abilities to WM capacity.
- Analysis of developmental neuroscience regarding frontal and parietal cortex maturation.
Main Results:
- The ability to cope with proactive interference (PI) significantly impacts working memory (WM) capacity.
- Children's developing frontal and parietal networks may explain their limited PI resolution.
- Increased PI resolution is proposed as a primary driver of enhanced WM capacity during early development.
Conclusions:
- The development of proactive interference (PI) resolution is crucial for increasing working memory (WM) capacity in children.
- Future research should investigate the mechanisms of PI resolution in pediatric populations.
- Current WM paradigms may underestimate children's true WM capacity due to inadvertent PI facilitation.
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