Professor Chris Jarrold
Talk Title: Rehearsal and the development of verbal short-term memory
Abstract: Verbal short-term memory (VSTM) undoubtedly improves across childhood, and understanding the causes of this increase is of both theoretical and practical importance, given links between VSTM function and vocabulary acquisition. An influential view is that apparent changes in VSTM capacity are reflective of development in the use of rehearsal to support performance, but in this talk I critique that position, before putting forward a radical reassessment of the status of rehearsal in VSTM development. I focus in particular on the claim that children undergo a qualitative change in their use of rehearsal around the age of 7. Here I show that key evidence to support this view can be explained simply in terms of the general improvements in memory capacity, and then explore the implications of this novel account for the development of VSTM in children.
Date: February 28th at 13:00
Location: Room 402 Malet Street (Birkbeck Main Building).
No booking required