SEBASTIAN AND HERNANDEZ-GIL

Question 1

Aim

Answer 1

To analyse the developmental pattern of the phonological loop

Question 2

Background

Answer 2

Research shows children aged 3-4 can use their phonological store but not the articulatory loop until age 7-8. However the capacity and speed of rehearsal increases with age until the age 15

Question 3

Sample

Answer 3

570 volunteers (272 male, 298 female). From public and private pre schools, primary schools and secondary schools in Madrid,
all born in Spain
no participants had difficulties in reading or writing
Study used for comparison: 25 healthy elderly people, 25 with Alzheimer’s and 9 with frontal temporal dementia

Question 4

Procedure

Answer 4

-ppts given a list of digits to recall
- asked to listen carefully and recall in the same order they were presented
-started with 3 digits and increased by 1 digit on each trial until an error was made
-digit span was taken as the maximum length at which the ppts could recall at least 2 out of the three series with no errors

Question 5

Results

Answer 5

Increase in digit span with age
Increased up to age 17
Digit span in group of healthy elderly (4.44) people was higher than 5-6 year olds (3.76) but not the older age groups

Question 6

Conclusion

Answer 6

Digit span increases throughout childhood until adolescence
Lower digit span between 5-8 suggests subvocal rehearsal does not develop until after this age
Digit span in Spanish children lower than English- Spanish numbers take longer to say and have more syllables so more time for memory to decay