Spatial working memory is enhanced in children by differential outcomes

Esteban, Laura; Vivas, Ana B.; Fuentes, Luis J.; Estévez, Angeles F. · 2015 · Crossref

DOI: 10.1038/srep17112

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Summary

This study investigates whether the differential outcomes procedure (DOP) can enhance spatial working memory (WM) in typically developing children. Spatial WM is a critical component of academic achievement, particularly for problem-solving and tasks requiring executive control. The DOP is a learning strategy where correct responses to specific stimulus associations are reinforced with unique, predictable outcomes, rather than random reinforcers used in standard non-differential outcomes procedures (NOP). Previous research indicated that DOP improves memory retention and resistance to forgetting in various populations, but its efficacy in spatial WM tasks for children had not been established. The authors hypothesized that DOP would improve performance, especially under conditions taxing the central executive system. The experiment involved 43 children aged 5 and 7 years. Participants completed two versions of a spatial WM task: a low-attentional task requiring passive recall of four target locations among eight possible positions, and a high-attentional task that added a secondary response demand to tax executive control. Five-year-olds performed only the low-attentional task, while 7-year-olds performed both. Each child completed both DOP and NOP conditions in separate sessions one week apart, with delays of 1, 5, 10, and 15 seconds between stimulus presentation and response. Performance was measured by the percentage of correct responses. Results demonstrated that DOP significantly enhanced spatial WM performance compared to NOP, though the effect depended on age and task difficulty. In the low-attentional task, 5-year-olds performed at chance levels under NOP but achieved above-chance accuracy with DOP. Older children performed well in this task regardless of the procedure. In the high-attentional task, 7-year-olds showed significantly better accuracy with DOP (73%) than NOP (66%). Crucially, delay intervals impaired performance in the NOP condition, particularly at longer delays, but did not significantly affect performance in the DOP condition. The detrimental effect of the high-attentional task on performance was also less severe under DOP than NOP. The findings suggest that DOP facilitates a shift from retrospective recall to prospective memory, where expectancies of specific outcomes serve as cues that reduce reliance on fragile working memory stores. This mechanism makes performance more resistant to delays and executive demands. The study concludes that DOP is a robust, simple intervention that can complement existing WM training programs. By leveraging unique feedback structures, DOP may help improve children’s academic performance, particularly in contexts requiring sustained attention and complex cognitive processing.

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• working memory