Working memory, psychiatric symptoms, and academic performance at school

Aronen, Eeva T.; Vuontela, Virve; Steenari, Maija-Riikka; Salmi, Juha; Carlson, Synnöve

doi:10.1016/j.nlm.2004.06.010

Cited by 168 publications

(122 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…These results are consistent with the hypothesis that poor working memory function and inattentive behaviour are closely associated in non-clinical samples of children (see also, Aronen et al, 2005), extending recent findings from studies of children with ADHD diagnoses (Klingberg et al, 2005;Martinussen & Tannock, 2006). They also fit well with evidence that typicallydeveloped adults with low working memory spans are more likely to experience mind wandering when they are engaged in demanding ongoing activities than individuals with higher working memory spans (Kane et al, 2007).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

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Attentional and executive function behaviours in children with poor working memory

Gathercole

Alloway

Kirkwood

et al. 2008

Learning and Individual Differences

167

140

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The purpose of this study was to explore the profiles of classroom behaviour relating to attention and executive functions in children with very poor working memory, and to test the hypothesis that inattentive behaviour and working memory problems co-occur. Teachers rated problem behaviours of 52 children with low working memory scores aged 5/6 and 9/10 years on teacher rating measures of attention and executive function behaviours. The majority of children with low working memory scores obtained atypically high ratings of cognitive problems/ inattentive symptoms, and were judged to have short attention spans, high levels of distractibility, problems in monitoring the quality of their work, and difficulties in generating new solutions to problems. These results extend previous findings that working memory problems and inattentive behaviour co-occur to a non-clinical sample. It is suggested that reduced working memory capacity may play a causal role in the problem behaviours of these children.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…Importantly, the teachers described the children as being inattentive. Aronen, Vuontela, Steenari, Salmi, & Carlson (2005) also reported in a study of an unselected sample of children that working memory scores were associated with teacher ratings of attentional and behavioural difficulties.…”

mentioning

confidence: 88%

Attentional and executive function behaviours in children with poor working memory

Gathercole

Alloway

Kirkwood

et al. 2008

Learning and Individual Differences

167

140

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Neuropsychological testing reveals moderate-to-marked impairment in WM in children with ADHD, both in initiating WM and in the limits of storage, particularly in the visuospatial domain [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]. These WM deficits may contribute significantly to inefficient learning, behavioral problems, executive dysfunction, and the eventual underachievement that children with ADHD often experience [25][26][27][28][29].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Will Working Memory Training Generalize to Improve Off-Task Behavior in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder?

et al. 2012

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Computerized working memory and executive function training programs designed to target specific impairments in executive functioning are becoming increasingly available, yet how well these programs generalize to improve functional deficits in disorders, such as attentiondeficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), beyond the training context is not well-established. The aim of this study was to examine the extent to which working memory (WM) training in children with ADHD would diminish a core dysfunctional behavior associated with the disorder, "offtask" behavior during academic task performance. The effect of computerized WM training (adaptive) was compared to a placebo condition (nonadaptive) in a randomized, doubleblind, placebo-controlled design in 26 children (18 males; age, 7 to 14 years old) diagnosed with ADHD. Participants completed the training in approximately 25 sessions. The Restricted Academic Situations Task (RAST) observational system was used to assess aspects of off-task behavior during the completion of an academic task. Traditional measures of ADHD symptoms (Conners' Parent Rating Scale) and WM ability (standardized WM tests) were also collected. WM training led to significant reductions in off-task ADHDassociated behavior on the RAST system and improvement on WM tests. There were no significant differences between groups in improvement on parent rating scales. Findings lend insight into the generalizability of the effects of WM training and the relation between deficits in WM and off-task behavioral components of ADHD. These preliminary data suggest WM training may provide a mechanism for indirectly altering academic performance in children with ADHD.

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“…These adaptations include intelligence and also selfcontrol or executive functions (i.e., attention shifting, inhibition, and working memory; Ardila 2008; Barkley 2001), which are well-known correlates of academic success (e.g., Alloway and Alloway 2010;Aronen et al 2004;Laidra et al 2007). Recent research suggests that executive functioning is biologically sensitive to context (Del Giudice et al 2011;Ellis et al 2009).…”

Section: An Evolutionary Perspective On At-risk Studentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This may imply that executive dysfunction prevents students from forming positive educational utility beliefs (i.e., favorable expectancies about formal education; Eccles and Wigfield 2002). Both educational utility beliefs (Conley 2012;Eccles and Wigfield 2002;Harackiewicz et al 2012) and executive functioning (Alloway and Alloway 2010;Aronen et al 2004;Laidra et al 2007; for measurement as self-control, see Duckworth and Carlson 2013;Mischel 2014) have been theoretically and empirically tied to academic outcomes such as achievement and attainment. Thus, it seems plausible that students employing a faster LHS are less likely to achieve well in school because of executive dysfunction that inhibits the formation of the positive educational utility beliefs, along with the self-control necessary for educational achievement/attainment.…”

Section: An Evolutionary Perspective On At-risk Studentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological and Evolutionary Principles for Secondary Education: Analyzing Career and Tech Ed

Richardson

Castellano

Stone

et al. 2015

Evolutionary Psychological Science

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Current approaches to secondary education expose students to cultural information and environmental conditions that were not typical features of youth development for the vast majority of human evolution. Understanding the mismatch between adolescents' evolved information processing biases and the educational content and environmental cues they often experience in school can help us to identify and/ or develop educational approaches that will work with student biases in attention and motivation, rather than against them. In this paper, we present an evolutionary perspective on adolescent learning, review life history theory, and describe how adolescents adopting a fast life history strategy (fast LHS) are especially susceptible to the mismatch between evolved biases and modern schooling. We then argue that learning in context is an approach that is more consistent with adolescents' evolved biases than traditional academic school environments and suggest that career and technical education (CTE) is an existing model that can be used successfully in secondary education, especially with students following a fast LHS. We conclude with future directions for CTE research and also applications of evolutionary theory to education and educational psychology.

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Working memory, psychiatric symptoms, and academic performance at school

Cited by 168 publications

References 39 publications

Attentional and executive function behaviours in children with poor working memory

Attentional and executive function behaviours in children with poor working memory

Will Working Memory Training Generalize to Improve Off-Task Behavior in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder?

Ecological and Evolutionary Principles for Secondary Education: Analyzing Career and Tech Ed

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