Verbal working memory shows non-linear growth from ages 3–19, with the most rapid growth during childhood and a brief accelerated period during early adolescence¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2022 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · recheck by 2027: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Cubic functional forms best fit forward and backward digit span growth in the PSID-CDS, with most rapid growth in childhood and a brief acceleration in early adolescence. → Ahmed 2022

Evidence¶

Ahmed 2022¶

Ahmed, S. F., Ellis, A., Ward, K. P., Chaku, N., & Davis-Kean, P. E. (2022). Working memory development from early childhood to adolescence using two nationally representative samples. Developmental Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001396

q3 · i? · associational · r2

Longitudinal mixed-effects modeling of the PSID-CDS accelerated longitudinal sample (N = 3,562, ages 3–19) tested four functional forms; cubic fit best for both tasks. "a cubic functional form best characterized development" with significant cubic coefficients (b = 0.002, p < .001).

"For Forward Digit Span, model fit statistics suggested that a cubic functional form best characterized development on both Forward (AIC = 503165648; BIC = 503165692; b = 0.002, p < .001) and Backward Digit Span tasks (AIC = 462856581; BIC = 462856628; b = 0.002, p < .001)."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Age and Developmental Stage — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• Backward digit span performance does not emerge until about age 5, whereas forward span is measurable from age 3 — related
• Male and female WM growth trajectories do not differ: sex-by-age interactions are non-significant after multiple-comparison correction — related
• When PSID-CDS data are restricted to ages 6–11, backward digit span growth is best characterized by a quadratic (not cubic) function — reports the opposite
• Sex-specific subgroup models show the same functional forms for boys and girls, though cubic coefficients for boys were not significant after correction — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• In a prospective longitudinal sample (ECLS-K:2011), numbers reversed performance follows a logarithmic growth pattern, decelerating over ages 6–11 — related
• Cool executive function measures show ascending age-related growth across adolescence, with a growth spurt around age 14–15 — related
• Antisaccade performance follows a curvilinear developmental trajectory best fit by an inverse function, with intra-subject latency variability decreasing with age — related
• Behavioral self-regulation development between ages three and seven is best described by an exponential (nonlinear) growth curve — related
• Quadratic latent growth fits MAP longitudinal achievement data better than linear growth across ten states — related
• Music training RCTs show improved verbal working memory (backward digit span), but not visuospatial or forward-span tasks — related
• Quadratic and cubic trends significantly improved the linear model of teacher and student behavior, showing the importance of studying nonlinearity — related
• Math achievement growth from preschool through second grade is best characterized by a latent basis curve rather than linear, exponential, or quadratic functions — related
• Average and superior children develop at different levels and grow increasingly dissimilar with age, with superior children showing adolescent mental acceleration about one year earlier — related
• Mental growth curves of superior children diverge from those of average children and resemble physical growth curves — related