Blocked-format span declines after age 20 but mixed-format span does not, implicating proactive interference in aging declines¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2000 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? The blocked design showed span increasing until about age 20 then declining, whereas the mixed design showed increases across the life span with no adult decline except for poor readers. → Chiappe 2000

Evidence¶

Chiappe 2000¶

Chiappe, P., Hasher, L., & Siegel, L. S. (2000). Working memory, inhibitory control, and reading disability. Memory & Cognition, 28(1), 8-17. https://doi.org/10.3758/bf03211570

q3 · i? · associational · r2

Experiment 2 results for the mixed listening span design contrast with Experiment 1's blocked design, which showed scores starting to decline after age 20. Adults over 19 had significantly higher span scores than children and adolescents, with adult groups not differing.

"The mixed version of the working memory task revealed an increase in working memory capacity for both skilled and disabled readers throughout the life span."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Age-related decline in span is associated only with the access function of inhibition, and only among skilled readers — related
• VSTM performance declines with advancing adult age in raw error, item capacity, precision, and misbinding, even after adjusting for sensorimotor performance — related
• Multitasking performance on NeuroRacer declines linearly across the adult lifespan from ages 20 to 79 — related
• Disabled readers show working memory deficits at every age on the blocked listening span task — related
• Working memory capacity is significantly smaller in lower-SES than higher-SES adolescents — related
• Ultimate attainment is similar for learners who begin by 10-12 years of age and declines continuously thereafter — related
• Omission (no response) errors vary with age but not with reading skill — related