Sam, the toenail-eating dog in Spring 2014, aged 15 years.
Jj is for Jottings 22. Auditory Sequential Memory: Some Useful Figures.
Thinking/cognition involves auditory sequential memory (also referred to as short term auditory processing or short term auditory memory) and visual sequential processing, working memory and executive function.
Auditory and visual sequential processing is how many pieces of information you can take in.
Working memory is how many pieces of information you can take in, hold it in your memory and DO something with it (manipulate the pieces).
Executive function is where you have taken in the information and remembered it, and now you are bringing in other information from long term memory and using visualisation (thinking in pictures) and conceptualisation (thinking in words) to manipulate the information and make associations i.e. think.
Auditory sequential memory is measured quite simply by using digit span – how many single numbers are remembered when presented one second apart. eg. 9-5-2-4. The average adult has a digit span of 7 (but this starts to decline after the late 20’s). At birth the sequential processing is 0. Typically it takes around 15 years to go from 0-7. Here’s a little guide:
Age Number of Digits
3 years 2-3
4 years 3-4
5 years 3,4,5
6 years 5-6
7-15 years 7
You might ask how often we are required to remember a string of numbers, but the important thing is that each number represents a piece of information being remembered, and therefore digit span corresponds to how much a person can take in of what is being said. This has obvious implications for learning in school, and how well we function in life in general, but is particularly relevant for children who are still developing. Looking at the table you see how an advanced 3 year old may have a span of 3 digits, but a 5 year old may also have a span of 3 digits, but the 5 year old will be exposed to longer and more complex information and higher expectations will be placed upon him and he will be unable to meet these expectations because he is not yet developmentally ready. Amongst other things, there are very important implications here for deciding whether or not a child is ready to make the transition from pre-school/kindergarten to school. There’s just no point if his brain isn’t ready (bearing in mind that there are rules about when they must start school, so some children must go to school whether they are ready or not).