Disentangling processing and storage accounts of working memory development in childhood

Abstract

Researchers have been asking the question of what drives the development of working memory (WM) during childhood for decades. This question is particularly challenging because so many aspects of cognition develop with age that it is difficult to disentangle them and find out which factors are causal or fundamental. In this review, we first prepare to discuss this issue by inquiring whether increases in storage, processing, or both are the fundamental driving factor(s) of the age-related increase in WM capability in childhood. We contend that by experimentally manipulating either factor and observing changes in the other, it is possible to learn about causal roles in WM development. We discuss research on school-aged children that seems to suggest, by means of such an approach, that the growth of storage is causal for some phases or steps in WM tasks, but that the growth of processing is causal for other steps. In our theoretical proposal, storage capacity of the focus of attention determines earlier steps of information processing by constraining the selective encoding of information into WM, whereas processing dependent on the focus of attention determines later steps, like the detection of patterns that can simplify the effective memory load and adoption of a proactive stance of maintenance in dual-task settings. Future directions for research are discussed.