Contribution of Reactive and Proactive Control to Children's Working Memory Performance: Insight From Item Recall Durations in Response Sequence Planning

• Published in: Developmental psychology 2014-07, Vol.50 (7), p.1999-2008
• Main Authors: Chevalier, Nicolas, James, Tiffany D, Wiebe, Sandra A, Nelson, Jennifer Mize, Espy, Kimberly Andrews
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adults; Age difference; Age Differences; Age Factors; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child Development; Child Development - physiology; Child, Preschool; Children; Children & youth; Developmental psychology; Elementary Education; Elementary School Students; Elementary Schools; Executive Function; Executive Function - physiology; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Human; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Memorization; Memory; Memory, Short-Term - physiology; Mental Recall - physiology; Neuropsychological Tests; Preschool Children; Preschools; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Reaction Time; Recall; Recall (Learning); Recall (Psychology); Response Parameters; Sequences; Serial Learning - physiology; Short Term Memory; Task Analysis; Task performance; Time Factors; Undergraduate Students; United States (Midwest); Working memory; Young Adult; Young Children; Youth
• ISSN: 0012-1649; 1939-0599
• DOI: 10.1037/a0036644

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.