Working memory as a moderator of training and transfer of analogical reasoning in children

• Published in: Contemporary educational psychology Vol. 38; no. 3; pp. 159 - 169
• Main Authors: Stevenson, Claire E., Heiser, Willem J., Resing, Wilma C.M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Inc 01.07.2013; Elsevier; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Analogical reasoning; Analogies; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child development; Children; Children & youth; Cognition & reasoning; Cognitive change; Developmental psychology; Dynamic testing; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Inductive reasoning; Item Response Theory; Logical Thinking; Memory; Moderators; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Regression analysis; Task performance; Thinking Skills; Training; Transfer; Working memory; Cognitive change; Transfer; Analogical reasoning; Dynamic testing; Item response theory; Human; Memory; Psychometrics; Cognition; Analogy reasoning; School age; Problem solving; Cognitive development; Working memory; Child
• ISSN: 0361-476X; 1090-2384
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2013.02.001

► We trained children in figural analogical reasoning. ► Visuo-spatial working memory moderated training effects. ► Neither visuo-spatial nor verbal working memory moderated transfer effects. ► Transfer was related to initial ability for an analogy construction task. Working memory is related to children’s ability to solve analogies and other inductive reasoning tasks. The aim of this study was to examine whether working memory also plays a role in training and transfer effects of inductive reasoning in the context of a short training procedure within a pretest-training-posttest-transfer design. Participants were 64 children, aged 7–8years (M=7.6years; SD=4.7months). All of the children were pre-tested on inductive reasoning and working memory tasks. The children were trained in figural analogy solving according to either the graduated prompts method or practice without feedback. The children were then post-tested on the trained task and three additional inductive reasoning measures. Regression models revealed that visuo-spatial working memory was related to initial performance on each of the inductive reasoning tasks (r≈.35). Children’s improvement from pretest to posttest in figural analogy solving, as measured with item response theory models, was somewhat related to visuo-spatial WM but not verbal WM scores or pretest scores. Furthermore, transfer of reasoning skills to an analogy construction task was related to initial ability, but not working memory; transfer to two inductive reasoning tasks with dissimilar content was not apparent. Performance change and ability to transfer trained skills to new tasks are not often used in psycho-educational assessment but may be separate constructs indicative of children’s learning and change.