This article considers the cross-linguistic validity of the Direction Following Task (DFT), which... more This article considers the cross-linguistic validity of the Direction Following Task (DFT), which is a verbal test of the central attentional component of working memory, called M-capacity in neo-Piagetian theories. The DFT involves oral commands of different complexity, in which syntactic variation is kept to a minimum and the information load is varied systematically. Two studies investigated the DFT with 124 adults and 159 five- to seven-year-olds, respectively. Study 1 compared the DFT with the Figural Intersections Test (FIT), a visuo-spatial M-capacity measure. Adults scored higher on the DFT than on the FIT ; however, using modified scoring rules that control for a recency effect due to cross-linguistic differences in word order, the mean DFT score was no longer different from the FIT. Study 2 compared the DFT with the Mr. Cucumber Test and the Backward Digit Span (BDS) – a visuo-spatial and a verbal M-capacity measure, respectively. Children scored higher on the DFT than on the other two tests ; however, the modified scoring aligned the mean DFT score with the Mr. Cucumber and the BDS means. The word order in Italian sentences seems to facilitate performance because recency allows easier retrieval of relevant information, whereas in the English original recency enhances redundant information retrieval. The DFT yields valid M-capacity measures when recency effects are controlled in scoring. The implications of cross-linguistic differences for task analysis and testing practice are discussed.
This article considers the cross-linguistic validity of the Direction Following Task (DFT), which... more This article considers the cross-linguistic validity of the Direction Following Task (DFT), which is a verbal test of the central attentional component of working memory, called M-capacity in neo-Piagetian theories. The DFT involves oral commands of different complexity, in which syntactic variation is kept to a minimum and the information load is varied systematically. Two studies investigated the DFT with 124 adults and 159 five- to seven-year-olds, respectively. Study 1 compared the DFT with the Figural Intersections Test (FIT), a visuo-spatial M-capacity measure. Adults scored higher on the DFT than on the FIT ; however, using modified scoring rules that control for a recency effect due to cross-linguistic differences in word order, the mean DFT score was no longer different from the FIT. Study 2 compared the DFT with the Mr. Cucumber Test and the Backward Digit Span (BDS) – a visuo-spatial and a verbal M-capacity measure, respectively. Children scored higher on the DFT than on the other two tests ; however, the modified scoring aligned the mean DFT score with the Mr. Cucumber and the BDS means. The word order in Italian sentences seems to facilitate performance because recency allows easier retrieval of relevant information, whereas in the English original recency enhances redundant information retrieval. The DFT yields valid M-capacity measures when recency effects are controlled in scoring. The implications of cross-linguistic differences for task analysis and testing practice are discussed.
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