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Assessing Working Memory in Children: The Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children – Working Memory (CABC-WM)
Published on: June 12, 2017
The relationship between short-term memory and working memory in children: What's different, what's the same, and
1University of California-Riverside and University of New Mexico, USA.
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This study investigates whether short-term memory (STM) and working memory (WM) are distinguishable constructs in a heterogeneous sample (N = 649) of elementary school children who vary in math and reading skills. Children in grades 1, 2, and 3 (ages 6-10) were administered STM and WM tasks as well as an array of criterion (fluid intelligence, reading, and math) and process measures (naming speed, phonological coding, inhibition) at years 1 and 2. A confirmatory factor analysis and Schmid-Leiman transformation of WM and STM measures supported a combined domain general factor and specific factor model. The results also found that (1) the domain-general factor drew upon several cognitive and LTM activities besides controlled attention, (2) specific memory factors contributed independent and unique variance to the criterion measures as well as improved predictions over the common factor, and (3) measures without the interleaving processes (i.e. backward digit span, updating) share variance on a domain general factor, but not on a complex WM span factor. The results show that specific WM and STM factors each contribute significant and unique variance to children's performance on measures of fluid intelligence, reading, and math.
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