How does working memory development occur in adolescence?

How does working memory development occur in adolescence?

• A. It develops from increased brain capacity and faster processing speed.
• B. It grows primarily due to changes in attention strategies learned in school.
• C. It declines as processing speed slows.
• D. It remains unchanged during adolescence.

Answer: (B)

Working memory improves in adolescence mainly because attention control and the use of cognitive strategies become more effective, often through schooling. As teens mature, they get better at focusing on task-relevant information, filtering out distractions, and organizing material into manageable chunks. They rehearse, monitor their own recall, and apply strategies learned in school to encode and retrieve information more efficiently. This refined use of attention and strategy reduces cognitive load and allows them to hold and manipulate more information on tasks across contexts. So, the growth in working memory is driven by developing strategies and attentional control learned in school, not just by a sudden increase in brain capacity or raw speed.

Working memory improves in adolescence mainly because attention control and the use of cognitive strategies become more effective, often through schooling. As teens mature, they get better at focusing on task-relevant information, filtering out distractions, and organizing material into manageable chunks. They rehearse, monitor their own recall, and apply strategies learned in school to encode and retrieve information more efficiently. This refined use of attention and strategy reduces cognitive load and allows them to hold and manipulate more information on tasks across contexts. So, the growth in working memory is driven by developing strategies and attentional control learned in school, not just by a sudden increase in brain capacity or raw speed.