Item identification speed and memory span performance in learning disabled children

Abstract

Previous studies have found that slower naming latencies correlate with the memory span difficulties of learning disabled (LD) children. The current study attempted to further clarify the relationship between speed and span by directly examining whether slower identification of item information is the source of span difficulties in LD children. Forty-eight 6th-grade boys participated in the study, 24 LD and 24 non-LD. The method involved pretesting each subject to obtain mean naming latencies for each of eight classes of stimuli. The experimental procedure then presented each subject with two memory span tasks: one using stimuli that had produced comparable group naming latencies, and the other with a stimulus class that had produced significant group differences in naming speed. The results indicated that span performance varied directly with naming speed. Results were discussed within the working memory framework of A. D. Baddeley and G. Hitch (1974), in The psychology of learning and memory (Vol. 8), New York: Academic Press).