Two experiments examined whether correlations between IQ and probed serial running memory depend on IQ-related individual differences in the retention of order information in short-term memory. Children's IQ correlated with memory, regardless of whether instructions emphasized serial or free recall; and with recent item but not recent order…

Intelligence and short-term memory correlations in children were measured using probed serial recall of supraspan digit lists. Results showed the predictive power of intelligence to range from a maximum in the case of recall for recency items to practically zero in the case of primacy items. (Author/MV)

Retarded subjects were compared with mental- and chronological-age matched controls on serial short-term memory (STM) tasks. Retarded subjects were inferior to the control groups on both primacy and recency items, under two recall conditions. These data are discussed in relation to possible mechanisms underlying IQ-related individual differences…