Working memory updating and the development of rule-guided behavior

Abstract

The transition from middle childhood into adolescence is marked by both increasing independence and also extensive change in the daily requirements of familial demands, social pressures, and academic achievement. To manage this increased complexity, children must develop the ability to use abstract rules that guide the choice of behavior across a range of circumstances. Here, we tested children through adults in a task that requires increasing levels of rule abstraction, while separately manipulating competition among alternatives in working memory. We found that age-related differences in rule-guided behavior can be explained in terms of improvement in rule abstraction, which we suggest involves a working memory updating mechanism. Furthermore, family socioeconomic status (SES) predicted change in rule-guided behavior, such that higher SES predicted better performance with development. We discuss these results within a working memory gating framework for abstract rule-guided behavior. 139 words

Multiple gates on working memory

“…How do gating dynamics develop across the lifespan [54 • ,55], and could they underpin age-related shifts in modes of cognitive control [56,57]?…”

A novel ecological account of prefrontal cortex functional development.

“…H. Johnson, Posner, & Rothbart, 1994; Luna & Sweeney, 2004; Stuss, 1992). The argument that structural maturation drives cognitive development is particularly compelling since the functional developmental course of executive functions closely follows the developmental course of PFC maturation (Amso, Haas, McShane, & Badre, 2014; M. C. Davidson, Amso, Anderson, & Diamond, 2006; Snyder & Munakata, 2010; Wendelken, Munakata, Baym, Souza, & Bunge, 2012; Zelazo et al, 2003). The close parallels between PFC maturation and improvements in executive functions have therefore led many to propose that structural maturation of PFC allows new or more advanced abilities to “come online”.…”

The relationship between cognitive enrichment and cognitive control: A systematic investigation of environmental influences on development through socioeconomic status

“…We focus this investigation on cognitive control and specifically updating rules for action into working memory (WM). Family SES has been linked to individual differences in prefrontal cortex (PFC)‐dependent executive functions or cognitive control, often interchangeable terms that describe WM, set shifting, and inhibitory skills (Amso, Haas, McShane & Badre, ; Lawson, Hook & Farah, ; Sheridan, Fox, Zeanah, McLaughlin, & Nelson, ) . In turn, cognitive control is critical to academic achievement outcomes (Lawson & Farah, ).…”