Actions versus Words: Exploring the contributions of working memory and motoric coding in children's instruction following using a dual‐task paradigm

Makri, Angie; Fiske, Abigail · 2023 · Crossref

DOI: 10.1111/bjdp.12461

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Summary

This study investigates the cognitive mechanisms underlying children’s ability to follow instructions, specifically examining whether the "enactment advantage"—the phenomenon where physically performing instructions leads to better memory than verbal recall—relies on working memory (WM) resources or motoric coding. While previous research in adults suggests that enactment benefits persist even when WM subsystems are taxed, this effect had not been replicated in children. The authors aimed to determine if the enactment advantage in 7–8-year-olds depends on WM components (phonological loop, central executive) or a proposed temporary motor store, using a dual-task paradigm to disrupt these systems during instruction encoding. Thirty-two children participated in a within-subjects design where they encoded verbal instructions while simultaneously performing one of four concurrent tasks: a baseline condition (no distractor), articulatory suppression (taxing the phonological loop), backwards counting (taxing the central executive), or motor suppression involving gross arm movements (taxing motor planning). Participants then recalled the instructions either verbally or through physical enactment. The instructions involved five action verbs and colored stationary items. A secondary analysis also examined a subset of instructions limited to two actions ("touch" and "pick up") to align with prior adult studies. The results demonstrated a significant main effect of recall type, with enactment consistently yielding superior memory performance compared to verbal recall across all conditions. All concurrent tasks significantly impaired overall performance relative to the baseline, with backwards counting causing the greatest disruption. However, the enactment advantage remained intact in all conditions, including the motor suppression task. There was no significant interaction between recall type and concurrent task, indicating that the benefit of enactment was not diminished by the disruption of WM or motor processes. The secondary analysis on the subset of "touch" and "pick up" instructions showed a non-significant trend where the enactment advantage disappeared under motor suppression, but this did not reach statistical significance. The findings indicate that children’s instruction-following memory is enhanced by physical enactment independent of standard working memory resources. Contrary to some adult studies where gross motor suppression eliminated the enactment advantage, this study found that the advantage persisted in children despite concurrent motor tasks. This suggests that the enactment effect in children does not rely solely on a temporary motor store or WM subsystems. The authors conclude that the robustness of the enactment advantage may depend on factors such as the complexity and familiarity of the motor tasks involved. These results have implications for educational practices, suggesting that encouraging physical enactment of instructions could support learning, particularly for children with WM deficits, as the benefit does not require intact WM resources.

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• prospective memory interruptions