ABSTRACT

There are many working memory (WM) models, generally formulated and developed in adults. Controversies arise as to whether such models are adequate conceptualizations of WM in children. The aim of the present study is to perform a systematic review of studies that evaluate the structure of WM during childhood. Databases (PubMed, Scopus) and article reference lists were reviewed, identifying 264 studies and including 14 in the review. These include participants between 4 and 15 years of age, with typical development, and they evaluated the structure of WM using confirmatory factor analysis. Results show that from 4 to 6 years onwards a structure composed of a domain-general executive component together with two domain-specific storage components (verbal, visuospatial) is identified, generally being the best fitting model. Limitations and potential contributions of the reported results are discussed.

摘要

有许多工作记忆（WM）模型，通常是在成年人中制定和开发的。关于这种模型是否足够恰当地将儿童的WM概念化，引起了争议。本研究的目的是对评估儿童期WM结构的研究进行系统的综述。审查了数据库（PubMed，Scopus）和文章参考列表，确定了264项研究，其中包括14项研究。这些参与者包括4至15岁之间，具有典型发展状况的参与者，并且他们使用验证性因素分析评估了WM的结构。结果表明，从4到6年之后，确定了一个由领域通用执行组件和两个领域特定存储组件（语言，视觉空间）组成的结构，通常是最佳拟合模型。