Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society

Numerous studies have suggested a relationship between working memory and mathematical ability. However, despite theclear relationship between these two constructs, it is still unclear why working memory might be related to mathematicalability. In the current study, we tested three possible theories, the Positive Manifold, a mediation model, and a Transac-tional model. Using path analyses in a structural equation modeling (SEM) framework, fit indices indicated an excellent fitfor the Transactional model, while a poor fit was shown for the remaining models. This finding may suggest that workingmemory and mathematical ability interact in a recursive manner over time, and essentially influence one another over adevelopmental trajectory. Findings may demonstrate the continued importance of working memory early in developmentand understanding how improving working memory may help struggling students in mathematics.