Higher cognitive functions are reliably predicted by working memory measures from two domains: children′s performance on complex span tasks, and infants′ looking behavior. Despite the similar predictive power across these research areas, theories of working memory development have not connected these different task types and developmental periods.

Vanessa R. Simmering is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research program focuses on understanding cognition and development from a dynamic systems perspective by considering how multiple factors influence behavior across timescales and contexts.

Nelson Cowan is Curators' Professor at the University of Missouri, Columbia. He has conducted NICHD-funded research on working memory, attention, and their childhood development since 1984. His work is shaped by a philosophical interest in human consciousness combined with the hope that the findings can be useful to educators and neuropsychologists.