Contribution of reactive and proactive control to children's working memory performance: Insight from item recall durations in response sequence planning

Nicolas Chevalier, Tiffany D. James, Sandra A. Wiebe, Jennifer Mize Nelson, Kimberly Andrews Espy

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

56 Scopus citations

Abstract

The present study addressed whether developmental improvement in working memory span task performance relies upon a growing ability to proactively plan response sequences during childhood. Two hundred thirteen children completed a working memory span task in which they used a touchscreen to reproduce orally presented sequences of animal names. Children were assessed longitudinally at 7 time points between 3 and 10 years of age. Twenty-one young adults also completed the same task. Proactive response sequence planning was assessed by comparing recall durations for the 1st item (preparatory interval) and subsequent items. At preschool age, the preparatory interval was generally shorter than subsequent item recall durations, whereas it was systematically longer during elementary school and in adults. Although children mostly approached the task reactively at preschool, they proactively planned response sequences with increasing efficiency from age 7 on, like adults. These findings clarify the nature of the changes in executive control that support working memory performance with age.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1999-2008
Number of pages10
JournalDevelopmental Psychology
Volume50
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2014

Keywords

  • Children
  • Reactive and proactive control
  • Recall duration
  • Response sequence planning
  • Working memory

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Demography
  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Life-span and Life-course Studies

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