Development of the Updating Ability Task: A Trajectory from 7-Year-Olds to Young Adults

Updating, a key executive function, involves continuously adjusting and refreshing information within working memory to adapt to changing environments. This cognitive function is crucial for ensuring that relevant information is maintained while outdated or irrelevant information is discarded. The present study aimed to develop a standardized assessment tool for accurately measuring updating ability and to explore the developmental trajectory of this cognitive function across different age groups. Initially, a review of existing methods for measuring updating ability was conducted, revealing several limitations, particularly in distinguishing updating from other executive functions such as inhibition and shifting. Most existing tests, including the n-back task and complex working memory span tasks, tend to confound updating with other working memory components, making it difficult to isolate the specific contribution of updating ability. To address these limitations, this study developed a tablet-based updating test using the running memory task paradigm. This test calculates both maximum span and updating scores to comprehensively reflect an individual's updating capacity. The maximum span index represents the highest level of difficulty at which participants can accurately remember the last items presented in a sequence, while the updating score captures the consistency of performance at different levels of difficulty, reflecting stability in updating ability. The validity of the newly developed updating test was assessed through various criterion-related validity analyses. Significant correlations were observed between the updating test scores and a range of cognitive measures, including processing speed, the Trail Making Test, classification tasks, and academic learning outcomes. These findings indicate that the updating test is a valid tool for assessing updating ability, and that updating ability is closely related to general cognitive processes such as speed, flexibility, and reasoning. Moreover, the test-retest reliability of the updating test was examined over a six-month interval, with results showing strong stability in both the maximum span and updating scores. This suggests that the updating test can reliably assess an individual's updating ability over time. The developmental trajectory of updating ability was further examined in this study, which involved participants ranging from 7 years old to early adulthood. The results indicated that updating ability improves steadily from childhood through adolescence and reaches a plateau during adulthood. Specifically, the ability develops rapidly during childhood, with significant gains observed from ages 7 to 15, and continues to improve, albeit at a slower rate, until early adulthood (ages 20–25), after which it stabilizes. This developmental pattern is consistent with the synaptic pruning observed in the prefrontal cortex, which plays a key role in supporting working memory processes. The findings align with previous research suggesting that the maturation of the prefrontal cortex is associated with improvements in executive functions, including updating. The updating test is based on the running memory task, which requires participants to remember and report the last few items presented in a sequence, such as numbers or letters. The test starts with a practice phase to ensure participants understand the task requirements and then consists of increasing levels of difficulty that adjust based on the participant's performance. In each trial, participants must remember the last n items presented, where n increases with each correct response. This adaptive approach ensures that the test is challenging yet appropriate for each individual's ability level. The two primary indices obtained from the test are the maximum span, which indicates the highest level at which participants can consistently perform well, and the updating score, which captures the stability and reliability of their performance across different difficulty levels. The validity of the updating test was established through its correlations with various cognitive measures. Specifically, the study employed multiple validity assessments, including processing speed measures (simple and choice reaction times), the Trail Making Test, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, and academic performance in linguistic and mathematical subjects. The results demonstrated significant associations between updating test performance and these criterion tasks, suggesting that individuals with better updating ability tend to have faster processing speeds, greater cognitive flexibility, and higher academic achievement. Processing speed, as assessed by reaction time tasks, was found to be significantly correlated with both maximum span and updating scores, indicating that faster cognitive processing is linked to more efficient updating. Similarly, performance on the Trail Making Test, which measures cognitive flexibility and the ability to shift between different sets of stimuli, was significantly associated with updating scores, further supporting the role of updating in complex cognitive tasks. The study utilized a stratified sampling approach across northern, central, southern, and eastern regions of Taiwan, recruiting participants from elementary school to university levels. A total of 1,164 participants provided valid data for establishing local norms for the updating test. The final sample was well-distributed across age groups, with participants ranging from 11 to 33 years of age. The local norms were developed to facilitate comparisons between individuals and the general population, allowing for a more nuanced interpretation of updating ability in different age groups. The study also developed an automated scoring module to enhance usability, allowing users to obtain scores that are directly aligned with these norms. This advancement makes the updating test suitable for both research purposes and practical applications in educational and clinical settings. To further investigate the developmental trajectory of updating ability, participants were divided into four age groups: Elementary school (grades 1–6), middle school (grades 7–9), high school (grades 10–12), and college level and above. A one­way analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed significant differences in updating performance across these age groups, indicating a steady improvement in updating ability throughout childhood and adolescence. The ANOVA results were further supported by post-hoc analyses, which showed that each successive age group outperformed the previous one in both maximum span and updating scores, highlighting the gradual maturation of updating ability during these critical developmental periods. In addition to the ANOVA, the study employed segmented regression and generalized additive models (GAM) to explore potential nonlinear relationships between age and updating ability. The segmented regression analysis identified two significant breakpoints at approximately ages 14 and 23, indicating distinct phases in the developmental progression of updating ability. Before age 14, updating ability increased rapidly, suggesting significant cognitive development during early adolescence. Between ages 14 and 23, the rate of improvement slowed, reflecting the gradual maturation of the prefrontal cortex and the stabilization of executive functions. After age 23, updating ability reached a plateau, consistent with the idea that the cognitive systems supporting working memory and executive function become fully developed by early adulthood. The GAM analysis further confirmed the nonlinear trajectory, showing a significant age effect that explained 24% of the variance in updating performance. The test-retest reliability of the updating test was supported by a follow-up assessment conducted six months after the initial test. Fifty participants completed the updating test twice, and the results showed a significant correlation between the two testing occasions for both the maximum span and updating scores. These findings indicate that the updating test provides consistent and reliable measures of updating ability over time, making it a valuable tool for longitudinal studies of cognitive development. In summary, the present study contributes to the field by developing a reliable and valid tool for evaluating updating ability and by providing a detailed understanding of the developmental trajectory of this critical executive function. The tablet-based updating test addresses previous limitations by isolating updating from other working memory components, offering practical advantages for use in both research and applied contexts. The establishment of local norms further enhances the applicability of the test, allowing practitioners to benchmark individual performance against the general population. This tool holds promise for use in educational and clinical settings, providing valuable insights into cognitive functioning and aiding in the identification of individuals who may benefit from targeted interventions to enhance executive function skills. The study's findings also underscore the importance of accurately assessing updating ability, given its strong association with various higher-order cognitive abilities, including fluid intelligence, reading comprehension, and mathematical problem­solving. By providing a comprehensive assessment of updating ability and its developmental trajectory, this research offers a foundation for future studies aimed at understanding the mechanisms underlying cognitive development and the factors that contribute to individual differences in executive function performance. The updating test developed in this study can serve as a useful tool for educators, clinicians, and researchers interested in exploring the role of updating in cognitive development, academic achievement, and everyday functioning.