Updating Working Memory and arithmetical attainment in school

Teresa Iuculano (1, 2, 3) , Raffaella Moro (4) , Brian Butterworth (4)

1 UPD5 SHS - Université Paris Descartes - Faculté des Sciences humaines et sociales - Sorbonne
2 Stanford School of Medicine [Stanford]
3 CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
4 UCL - University College of London [London]

Here we wished to determine how the sub-components of Working Memory (Phonological-Loop and Central Executive) influence children's arithmetical development. Specifically, we aimed at distinguishing between Working Memory inhibition and updating processes within the Central Executive, and the domain-specificity (words and numbers) of both subcomponents in a population of children with low attainment in arithmetic and their age matched typically-attaining controls. We show that both groups were similar for phonological loop abilities, while Working Memory updating demonstrated a domain-specific modulation related to the level of children's arithmetical performance. Moreover, inhibition processes interacted with domain-specificity and arithmetical attainment. These results are particularly relevant to the diagnostic assessment of arithmetical ability and should be considered in existing tests of arithmetical development.

Mots clés: Working-memory; Updating; Arithmetical attainment

Domaines: Sciences de l'Homme et Société

Teresa Iuculano, Raffaella Moro, Brian Butterworth. Updating Working Memory and arithmetical attainment in school. Learning and Individual Differences, 2011, 21 (6), pp.655-661. ⟨10.1016/j.lindif.2010.12.002⟩. ⟨halshs-02960533⟩