Contribution of working memory components to efficiency in simple arithmetic during school age Contribución de los componentes de la memoria de trabajo a la eficiencia en aritmética básica durante la edad escolar

Abstract

Although several studies have provided evidence for the relation between working memory (WM) and arithmetic performance, results are still inconsistent. The aim of this study was to evaluate the unique contribution of each component of WM (phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad and central executive) to the explained variance of efficiency in simple arithmetic during different moments of school-age development. WM tasks were used to evaluate 285 students (M age = 9.58 years, SD = 1.79), with and without difficulties in simple arithmetic, from 5 schools in Santiago and Chillán, Chile. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that each WM component contributes differently to the variance of efficiency in simple arithmetic; however, this contribution varies throughout students' school-age development. Variance analysis showed differences in WM functioning between students with and without difficulties in arithmetic, which suggests that the origin of such difficulties may be strongly li