sebastian and hernandez gil

Question 1

aim

Answer 1

aimed to investigate the development of the phonological loop in children ages 5-17 using digit span as a measure of phonological capacity
they also compared findings to previous studies on adults, dementia patients and english children to see if language- word length and dementia had an impact on digit span.

Question 2

sample A01

Answer 2

570 ppts, children aged 5-17 from schools in madrid, 25 elderly healthy ppts compared with 25 alzheimers and 9 demntia ppts

school children matched on education level and cognitive ability, non had retaken the year or had an issues with reading, writing, hearing, screened for

Question 3

sample A03

Answer 3

• strength: variety different schools, different children different upbrinings, different areas of madrid- therefore representitive of wider population of spanish children
• weakness: ethnocentric?

-strength: controlled for extraneous/ ppt variables allowing a clearer cause and effect to be developed … based on dvelopment of phonological loop and digit span

Question 4

procedure A01

Answer 4

• ppts were seperated into age groups
• during their break time at school
  -firstly 3 sequences of 3 digits read put at a pace of 1 digit per second
• ppt had to repeat sequence verbally in correct order
• this was repeated 3 times adding on an additional digit to each sequence
  -digit span was the maxium length the child could recall 2/3 sequences correctly in same order

Question 5

procedure A03

Answer 5

strength: standerdised, can be replicated for consistency

weakness: lacked mundane realism and eco val, lab and artificial task

weakness 9 not needed )- cross cultural design not longitudinal may be cohort effect not developmental changes

Question 6

results

Answer 6

• found that children aged 5 had poor digit span of 3.76
• children aged 6-8 had a digit span of 4.34
  found that sub vocal rehersal only began after age of 7
  -digit span increased until age 17, 5.91
• compared to english ppts were 1 digit less
  -demenia didnt effect digit span but age was the biggest determinant, older ppts had a digit span the same as a 7 year old

Question 7

results A03

Answer 7

• application allows us to understand that children struggle with subvocal rehersal up to age 7 therefore may avoid learning tasks with this kind of rehersal, also can identify if childten are having issues with subvocal rehersal over the age of 7 try to assist them.
• understand impact of word length effect, english children could recall 1 digit more as there words have less sylables than spanish therefore there working memory can more words as takes less time for phonological store to reherse words.

strength: objective data