DEVELOPMENTAL-CHANGES IN SPEED OF INFORMATION-PROCESSING IN YOUNG-CHILDREN

This study investigated developmental increases in processing speed in young children, relative to adults, with only nonverbal stimuli. R. K ail's (1991) model of the rate of change in processing speed from chil dhood to adulthood was evaluated. Processing speed was measured in 34 children at 4 years, 37 at 5 years, and 38 at 6 years and in 43 adults , with a battery of 8 computer-administered rests. Results showed clea r age-related increases in processing speed that cannot be attributed to increased accuracy and error rate monitoring. Kail's model adequate ly accounted for the observed rate of developmental change in processi ng speed; however, the parameter estimates of R. Kail and Y. Park (199 2) provided more accurate predictions than did the meta-analytically d erived estimates of Kail (1991). Findings support the global developme ntal trend hypothesis and suggest that this trend extends beyond the r ange of verbal skills evaluated in previous research.