The relation between attention, inhibitory control and spatial working memory in 3- and 4-year-olds

IF 1.9 3区心理学 Q3 PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENTAL

Cognitive Development Pub Date : 2026-07-01 Epub Date: 2026-07-07 DOI:10.1016/j.cogdev.2026.101744

Yinbo Wu, Anne R. Schutte

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Working memory, inhibitory control and attention are key contributors to school readiness, STEM achievement and self-regulation. Yet the relations between these core variables in early childhood are not clear. This study addressed the relation of attention and inhibitory control to spatial working memory among young children. Specifically, the study investigated how attention and inhibitory control were associated with spatial working memory span, accuracy and biases in 3- and 4-year-olds. Seventy-one children were assessed using working memory and attention tasks. Parents completed the attentional focusing and shifting and inhibitory control subscales of the Children’s Behavior Questionnaire. Greater sustained attention was associated with greater forward spatial span, spatial memory accuracy and greater spatial memory biases away from the symmetry axis of the computer monitor, a more developmentally advanced memory response. The association between inhibitory control and spatial working memory was not significant. This study provides evidence for the relation between attention and spatial working memory in early childhood. The non-significant relation between inhibitory control and spatial working memory is discussed.

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3、4岁儿童注意、抑制控制与空间工作记忆的关系

工作记忆、抑制控制和注意力是入学准备、STEM成就和自我调节的关键因素。然而，这些核心变量在幼儿期之间的关系尚不清楚。本研究探讨了幼儿空间工作记忆中注意和抑制控制的关系。具体来说，该研究调查了3岁和4岁儿童的注意力和抑制性控制与空间工作记忆广度、准确性和偏差的关系。71名儿童接受了工作记忆和注意力任务的评估。家长完成了《儿童行为问卷》的注意集中与转移和抑制控制分量表。更大的持续注意力与更大的前向空间跨度、空间记忆准确性和更大的远离电脑显示器对称轴的空间记忆偏差有关，这是一种更高级的记忆反应。抑制控制与空间工作记忆的相关性不显著。本研究为儿童早期注意与空间工作记忆的关系提供了证据。讨论了抑制控制与空间工作记忆的不显著关系。

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来源期刊

Cognitive Development Multiple-

CiteScore

3.20

自引率

5.60%

发文量

114

期刊介绍： Cognitive Development contains the very best empirical and theoretical work on the development of perception, memory, language, concepts, thinking, problem solving, metacognition, and social cognition. Criteria for acceptance of articles will be: significance of the work to issues of current interest, substance of the argument, and clarity of expression. For purposes of publication in Cognitive Development, moral and social development will be considered part of cognitive development when they are related to the development of knowledge or thought processes.