Work

The Cognitive and Behavioral Characteristics of Children With Low Working Memory

Year: 2009

Type: article

Abstract: This study explored the cognitive and behavioral profiles of children with working memory impairments. In an initial screening of 3,189 five- to eleven-year-olds, 308 were identified as having very low working memory scores. Cognitive skills (IQ, vocabulary, reading, and math), classroom behavior, and self-esteem were assessed. The majority of the children struggled in the learning measures and verbal ability. They also obtained atypically high ratings of cognitive problems/inattentive symptoms and were judged to have short attention spans, high levels of distractibility, problems in monitoring the quality of their work, and difficulties in generating new solutions to problems. These data provide rich new information on the cognitive and behavioral profiles that characterize children with low working memory.

Source: Child Development

DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01282.x

Authors: Tracy Packiam Alloway, Susan Elizabeth Gathercole, Hannah Kirkwood, Julian Elliott

Institutions: University of Stirling, University of York, Durham University

Language: English

Topic: Developmental and Educational Neuropsychology

Subfield: Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: bronze

Funder: Economic and Social Research Council