Sebastain and Hernandez-Gil

Created by: MatthewAlmond
Created on: 19-05-22 16:17

Aims

Investigate the development of the phonological loop in children 5-17 using digit span as a measure of phonological capacity, then compare this information to findings of their previous research on adult, aged, and dementia patients

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Procedure

-570 p's taken from schools in madrid, all native and no cog impairments
- P's divided into five different age groups
- P's were tested individually, they were read increasing sequences of digits, and had to recall in the correct order
- Digit span for P

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Findings

Developmental trend of increasing digit span with age

Age groups Mean DS
5 - 3.76
6-8 - 4.34
9-11 - 5.13
12-14 - 5.46
15-17 - 5.83

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Comparing findings to previous research with elderly, aged, and dementia patients

-Elderly P's had significantly higher digit span compared to 5 year olds, but no significant difference from other age groups
-AD patients showed similar profile, however those with FTD had a digit span significantly similar to the younger age group
-Co

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Comparing findings to Anglo-Saxon Research

Consistent with anglo-saxon research, This investigation showed a increase in digit span over time in the spanish population.
Capacity of digit span was far lower in Spanish Population compared to digit span of 7 found in Anglo-Saxon Studies. This could

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Generalisability

+ High Level of population validity as sample was large - representative
+ Results capable of being generalised to wider public
- Not generalisable to all cultures, all P's born in spain (word length effect)

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Reliability

+ Standardised Procedure - digits read aloud at a constant rate of 1 second for every P
+ Good control of confounding variables (excluded any participants with hearing, reading and writing difficulties. These are known to affect digit span) meaning that I

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Application

+ Can be applied to a wider population due to tracking the transformation of digit span across ages, gives an idea what age learning becomes easier
+ Could also give aid to primary schools and how students are educated

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Validity

+ Good ecological validity due to school setting
- Artificial Task, not how STM is used in everyday life

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Ethics

- Target groups were children under 16 and patients with Alzehimers/FTD making them appear as vulnerable
- Raises issue of receiving proper informed consent from P's

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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Back

Procedure

Card 3

Front

Developmental trend of increasing digit span with age

Age groups Mean DS
5 - 3.76
6-8 - 4.34
9-11 - 5.13
12-14 - 5.46
15-17 - 5.83

Back

Card 4

Front

Back

Card 5

Front

Back

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Sebastain and Hernandez-Gil