Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh, 3939 O'Hara Street, 15260, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Mem Cognit. 1976 Sep;4(5):559-72. doi: 10.3758/BF03213219.
This paper evaluates the assertion that short-term memory (STM) capacity increases with age. Initially an analysis is made of the STM system in terms of its parameters and control processes. No evidence was found that can suggest conclusively that either the capacity or the rate of information loss from STM varies with age. On the other hand, substantial evidence exists to show that the processing strategies used by adults are unavailable or deficient in children. Furthermore, considerable differences in the contents and complexity of the long-term memory (LTM) knowledge base (semantic and recognition networks can produce grossly different STM performance between age groups. The second half of this paper reviews three STM-related paradigms-memory span, serial probed recall, and recognition under limited exposure-that have consistently shown performance deficits in children. These deficits are explained in terms of the lack of proper control processes (or processing strategies), as well as an impoverished LTM knowledge base rather than a limitation in STM capacity.
本文评估了短期记忆 (STM) 容量随年龄增长而增加的说法。首先，根据其参数和控制过程对 STM 系统进行了分析。没有发现任何证据可以明确表明 STM 的容量或信息丢失率随年龄而变化。另一方面，有大量证据表明，成年人使用的处理策略在儿童中不可用或不足。此外，长时记忆 (LTM) 知识库的内容和复杂性存在很大差异（语义和识别网络），这会导致不同年龄组之间的 STM 性能存在巨大差异。本文的后半部分回顾了三种与 STM 相关的范式——记忆广度、序列探测回忆和有限暴露下的识别，这些范式在儿童中一直表现出表现缺陷。这些缺陷可以用缺乏适当的控制过程（或处理策略）以及 LTM 知识库匮乏来解释，而不是 STM 容量的限制。
