contemporary: Sebastian and Hernandez 2012

Question 1

background

Answer 1

the phonological loop was present by 3-4 years
subvocal rehearsal present from 7-8 years
anglo saxon DS increases to 15 years.

Question 1

aims

Answer 1

to investigate the development of the phonological loop in children between the ages of 5 and 17 using digit span as a measure of phonological capacity

Question 2

procedure

Answer 2

-570 volunteers taken from schools in Madrid
- all native spanish speaking
- impairments in hearing, reading, writing ability were controlled - excluded.
- divided into 5 different age groups
- increasing sequences of digits to be recalled in the correct order
- digits were read aloud by researcher at a rate of 1 per second and the list increased 1 digit per sequence
- digit span was recorded as the max length recalled in correct order
- DS recorded for each age group

Question 3

findings

Answer 3

• children aged 5 have a very low digit span that rises steadily until 11 where it slows
• DS between 15 and 17 remains stable

Question 4

conclusion

Answer 4

1. digit span was found to increase with age
2. DS in spanish population is shorter than anglosaxon culture, due to word length.
   spanish people have lower digit span compared to British, 2 or more syllables

Question 5

generalisability

Answer 5

p- can be generalised
E- range of ages in Madrid, males and females
T- large sample of diff age groups could be tested.

CA- only in one place
only focused on European languages, therefore DS in non euro languages could not be inferred.

Question 6

reliability

Answer 6

+ each time digits read every 1 second
P- strong as there was a strong level of control and standardised procedure
E- participants all experience same thing
T - study can be replicated and therefore increases reliability

CA- the use of a cross sectional design is a problem bc as individuals were not tracked through time.
so could be subtle differences between age groups.

Question 7

application

Answer 7

check to see if a child is where they should be developmentally

Question 8

validity

Answer 8

P- the study controlled for extraneous variables
E- impairments excluded
T these variables could have affected results - led to decrease in recored ds
- controlling for this increases internal validity as it was measuring what it aimed to.

CA - P- the study has an artificial task
E- it is unusual for students to learn and recall digits alone, conducted in a contrived setting
T- lacks ecological validity as it doesn’t reflect children using memory daily.

Question 9

ethics

Answer 9

+ parts were volunteers, had the right to withdraw
- CA participants may have felt embarrassed if their digit span was low, so doesn’t protect psychological well being.