Background: Verbal short-term memory (STM) capacity has been considered to support vocabulary learning in typical children and adults, but evidence for this link is inconsistent for studies in individuals with Down syndrome (DS). The aim of this study was explore the role of processing demands on the association between verbal STM and vocabulary…

Responding to a robust body of literature suggesting that children's early educational experiences are critical, policymakers have implemented and expanded the provision of full-day kindergarten (FDK) in recent decades. Most studies have focused on the effectiveness of FDK on child academic assessments or test scores, but none have examined FDK…

The present investigation examined the sexual dimorphic patterns of cardiorespiratory fitness to working memory in preadolescent children (age range: 7.7-10.9). Data were collected in three separate studies (Study 1: n = 97, 42 females; Study 2: n = 95, 45 females; Study 3: n = 84, 37 females). All participants completed a cardiorespiratory…

To create a coherent and correct mental representation of a text, readers must validate incoming information; they must monitor information for consistency with the preceding text and their background knowledge. The current study aims to contrast text- and knowledge-based monitoring to investigate their unique influences on processing and whether…

The construct autobiographical memory (AM) refers to the mnemonic skill that enables individuals to form personal memories about their lives and re-experience them. Its ontogeny can be understood from the dialectic construction of maturational processes and the cultural-historical context. This research sought to further the knowledge regarding…

The purpose of this study is to investigate and conceptualize the ranks of importance of social cognitive variables on university students' computer programming performances. Spatial ability, working memory, self-efficacy, gender, prior knowledge and the universities students attend were taken as variables to be analyzed. The study has been…

Sounds deviating from an otherwise repeated or structured sequence capture attention and affect performance in an ongoing visual task negatively, testament to the balance between selective attention and change detection. Although deviance distraction has been the object of much research, its modulation across the life span has been more scarcely…

We report an experiment designed to provide a qualitative contrast between knowledge-limited versions of mixed-state and variable-resources (VR) models of visual change detection. The key data pattern is that observers often respond "same" on big-change trials, while simultaneously being able to discriminate between same and small-change…

The sequence in which problems of different concepts are studied during instruction impacts concept learning. For example, several problems of a given concept can be studied together (blocking) or several problems of different concepts can be studied together (interleaving). In the current study, we demonstrate that the 2 sequences impact concept…

Prior research suggests that adolescence is a time of enhanced sensitivity for practice and learning. In this study we tested the neural correlates of divergent thinking training in 15- to 16-year-old adolescents relative to an age-matched active control group. All participants performed an alternative uses task, a valid measure to test divergent…

Working memory (WM) impairments might amplify behavioural difference in genetic syndromes. Murine models of Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome (RTS) evidence memory impairments but there is limited research on memory in RTS. Individuals with RTS and typically developing children completed WM tasks, with participants with RTS completing an IQ assessment and…

Worked examples have proven to be effective for knowledge acquisition compared with problem solving, particularly when prior knowledge is low (e.g., Kalyuga, 2007). However, in addition to prior knowledge, executive functions and fluid intelligence might be potential moderators of the effectiveness of worked examples. The present study examines…

This study examined whether attention to a location plays a role in the maintenance of locations in spatial working memory in young children as it does in adults. This study was the first to investigate whether distractors presented during the delay of a spatial working-memory task influenced young children's memory responses. Across 2…

Weak performance in short-term memory (STM) in children with cochlear implants (CI) may have an impact on vocabulary development. Vocabulary, phonological STM (non-word repetition), phonological/verbal STM (digit span) and rapid naming measures were administered to 15 Greek-speaking children with CI (ages 4;6-8;6) and to chronological age (CA) and…

There is substantial debate in the field of short-term memory (STM) as to whether the process of active maintenance occurs through memory-trace reactivation or repair. A key difference between these 2 potential mechanisms is that a repair mechanism should lead to recovery of forgotten information. The ability to recover forgotten memories would be…