The Contribution of Visual Processing Speed to Visual and Auditory Working Memory in Early School Years

Alghamdi, Rana J.
Murphy, Melanie J.
Crewther, Sheila G.

Department of Psychology and Counselling, La Trobe University
Department of Psychology, King Saud University

This study was conducted with approval from the La Trobe University Human Ethics Committee, the Victorian Department of Education Human Ethics Committee, and the Victorian Catholic Schools Ethics Committee.

Rana J. Alghamdi, Melanie J. Murphy, and Sheila G. Crewther contributed to the design, execution, and writing this study. Both Rana J. Alghamdi and Melanie J. Murphy conducted the data analysis.

The funding of this study was provided by La Trobe University, School of Psychology and Public Health, Department of Psychology and Counselling.

Authors would like to thank Nahal Goharpey for getting the ethics approval, and Hayley Pickering and Areej Alhamdan for their assistance in collecting the data in schools.

Rana J. Alghamdi, Department of Psychology and Counselling, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia [email protected]

Received May 17, 2021

revised August 15, 2021

Accepted August 23, 2021

Psychology & Neuroscience 14(4):p 454-467, December 2021. | DOI: 10.1037/pne0000274

Objective: The primary aim of the present study was to examine the predictive contribution of age and speed of visual processing measures to the determination of visual working memory (VWM) and auditory working memory (AWM) in children aged 5–7 years. Method: The present study has used structural equation models (SEM) for determination of speed of visual processing measures (visual inspection time, visual–verbal rapid automatic naming of objects, and a visuo-motor game-like iPad application) to working memory (WM) using forward and backward visual and auditory verbal digit span (FDS and BDS, respectively) tasks as the dependent working memory (WM) measures. Results: Analysis of variance revealed that visual and auditory FDS and BDS improved significantly with school grade being consistent with the notion that VWM and AWM are experimentally dissociable cognitive domains that develop at differential rates in early years of schooling as the child becomes progressively more familiar with the translation of visual symbols into their verbal equivalents. Furthermore, our SEM does not support Baddeley’s multicomponent model of working memory, with visual information processing significantly contributing to VWM but not to AWM in primary school-aged children. Conclusions: Our findings provide evidence of continuing WM development paralleling brain maturation of children. Overall, our results support a developmental cognitive neuroscience approach to WM development.