Processing Speed, Working Memory, and Fluid Intelligence: Evidence for a Developmental Cascade

  • Astrid F. Fry
  • , Sandra Hale

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

632 Scopus citations

Abstract

Processing speed, working memory capacity, and fluid intelligence were assessed in a large sample (N = 214) of children, adolescents, and young adults (ages 7 to 19 years). Results of path analyses revealed that almost half of the age-related increase in fluid intelligence was mediated by developmental changes in processing speed and working memory, and nearly three fourths of the improvement in working memory was mediated by developmental changes in processing speed. Moreover, even when age-related differences in speed, working memory, and fluid intelligence were statistically controlled, individual differences in speed had a direct effect on working memory capacity, which, in turn, was a direct determinant of individual differences in fluid intelligence.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)237-241
Number of pages5
JournalPsychological Science
Volume7
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 1996

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