Working Memory in Development

Tracing back the evolution of the concept of working memory from its introduction by Alan Baddeley and Graham Hitch in 1974 and the development of their ''modal model'', this book will explain how an alternative concept could have been developed from the very beginning and why it is needed today. The authors present the main tenants of their Time-Based Resource-Sharing model and the empirical findings that support it. They propose a new architecture of working memory, providing a description of its functioning and providing hints about the neural substrates involved. They also address questions related to the development of working memory and sources of individual differences. In the final chapter, they discuss hotly debated questions concerning working memory and more generally cognitive architecture and functioning.

Working memory is the system responsible for the temporary maintenance and processing of information involved in most cognitive activities, and its study is essential to the understanding of cognitive development. Working Memory in Development provides an integrative and thorough account of how working memory develops and how this development underpins childhood cognitive development.

Tracing back theories of cognitive development from Piaget''s most influential theory to neo-Piagetian approaches and theories pertaining to the information-processing tradition, Camos and Barrouillet show in Part I how the conception of a working memory became critical to understanding cognitive development. Part II provides an overview of the main approaches to working memory and reviews how working memory itself develops across infancy and childhood. In the final Part III, the authors explain their own theory, the Time-Based Resource-Sharing (TBRS) model, and discuss how this accounts for the development of working memory as well providing an adequate frame to understanding the role of working memory in cognitive development.

Working Memory in Development effectively addresses central and debated questions related to working memory and is essential reading for students and researchers in developmental, cognitive, and educational psychology.