Memory span increase with age: A test of two hypotheses

Abstract

Three experiments test the hypotheses that increase in memory span with age is determined by (i) identification time or (ii) articulation time. Experiment 1 matches 5- and 7-year-old children on the time taken to identify words given in a span test and finds that this does not equate span. Experiment 2 matches 5-and 7-year-old children on their articulation rates for individual words in a span test and finds that this is not sufficient to equate span performance. Experiment 3 matches 5- and 7-year-old children on their articulation rates for repeating a word three times and finds significant age effects in span scores for unfamiliar but not for familiar words. It is concluded that the developmental increase in span cannot be explained by differences in identification time, nor by the hypothesis that articulation time is the sole or major cause. It is argued that the development of span with age depends on a combination of factors which include familiarity and time to repeat a word more than once.