The Construction of Computer-based Application of Working Memory Test for Early Age Children in Indonesia

Working memory (WM), a central component of executive function (EF) which facilitates the capability to store and modulate information, develops rapidly during early childhood, and has proven to contribute to children's academic achievement. WM generally has two types of measures, each of which mainly involves the WM's verbal and visuospatial aspect. However, research on the standardized and developed assessment of WM aspects for early age children in Indonesia remains inadequate, especially embedded with information technology. This study aimed to develop a WM measurement tool using a computer-based application test to support the integration between the computer-based and behavioral measurements of WM aspects in early age children. Construct validity of the WM computerized test was determined by comparing the conventional and computerized EF tests on 36 children (15 boys and 21 girls) age 48-72 months old. Two computerized WM tasks that specified WM's verbal aspect, namely the Backward Animal Task and Shining Star respectively, were administered individually to each child by a trained tester. The Spearman correlation analysis resulted in Shining Star as the most suitable computer-based WM task for early age children. Both conventional and computer-based measures of the visuospatial aspect of WM had similar task mechanisms and rules. They equivalently required visual and kinesthetic modalities, which emphasized the common nonverbal aspects of WM. This result provides an initiative for the evidence-based development of the computer-based WM test in Indonesia for early age children, which is critically important to help individuals with psychological and behavioral problems during Covid-19.