Short-term memory task profiles differ by age: 7–8-year-olds show no verbal–spatial difference, while 9–10-year-olds show a verbal > visuo-spatial > motor gradient.¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · causal r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2021 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · recheck by 2026: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q3 i? The memory task × age interaction was significant; older children showed a gradient among verbal, visuo-spatial and motor spans, younger children did not differentiate verbal from spatial spans. → Ottoboni Giovanni 2021 (2)

Evidence¶

Ottoboni Giovanni 2021¶

Ottoboni Giovanni, Ceciliani Andrea, Tessari Alessia. (2021). The Effect of Structured Exercise on Short-Term Memory Subsystems: New Insight on Training Activities. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18147545

q3 · i? · causal · r2

Secondary analysis from the same ANOVA: the memory task × age interaction, "F(1.96,112) = 7.81, p = 0.001", with older children showing verbal > spatial > motor spans (printed means 5.69, 5.25, and the motor value as printed).

"Memory task × age was significant (F(1.96,112) = 7.81, p = 0.001) as the group aged 9–10 performed better in the verbal task (mean = 5.69, SE = 0.125) compared to both the spatial mean = 5.25, SE = 0.112, t(62) = 2.82, p = 0.003) and motor (mean = 53.96, SD = 0.103, T(62) = 10.08, p < 0.001) tasks, and in the spatial compared to the motors one (t(62) = 9.38, p < 0.001)."

Ottoboni Giovanni 2021 (2)¶

Ottoboni Giovanni, Ceciliani Andrea, Tessari Alessia. (2021). The Effect of Structured Exercise on Short-Term Memory Subsystems: New Insight on Training Activities. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18147545

q3 · i? · causal · r2

In the younger group, spatial and verbal spans did not differ, "t(60) = 0.884 p > 0.05", but both exceeded the motor span. The authors relate this to different developmental trajectories of WM components.

"On the contrary, the group aged 7–8 did not show differences between the spatial (mean = 4.79, SE = 0.111) and the verbal tasks (mean = 4.88, SE = 0.124): (t(60) = 0.884 p > 0.05); however both the verbal (t(60) = 16.32, p < 0.001) and the spatial task (t(60) = 14.74, p < 0.001) resulted in a better performance compared to the motor one (mean = 2.65, SE = 0.102)."

Discussion¶

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