Plan Chunking during Memory-Guided Planning

Presenter

Zarwah Kanwal

Campus

UMass Boston

Sponsor

Tashauna Blankenship, Department of Psychology, UMass Boston

Schedule

Session 3, 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM [Schedule by Time][Poster Grid for Time/Location]

Location

Poster Board A88, Campus Center Auditorium, Row 5 (A81-A100) [Poster Location Map]

Abstract

Memory-guided planning refers to the cognitive process of using past experiences and memories to guide future actions or plans (Blankenship & Kibbe, 2019). Previous research indicates that 3-year-olds can execute 2-step plans using episodic memory, and our prior work highlights the effectiveness of "plan chunking" in aiding working memory during memory-guided planning tasks, enabling 3-year-olds to complete 4-step plans. This study aims to delve deeper into the role of plan chunking in supporting working memory among 3-year-olds during memory-guided planning. 

The experiment involves 32 participants (16 3-year-olds and 16 4-year-olds). Children were instructed to two objects each produced a specific color (yellow or orange) pom pom that could be used to complete treasure maps and find treasure (stickers). Children were then asked to help the experimenter retrieve map pieces to finish maps (8 total) of increased complexity (3 and 4 steps) that were either grouped by color (plan chunking; e.g., yellow, yellow, orange, orange) or alternated (e.g., yellow, orange, yellow, orange). Critically, this task filled in the maps as children responded correctly, reducing the demands on working memory. 

While data collection is ongoing, we anticipate that 4-year-olds will outperform 3-year-olds, performance will decline with longer sequences, and no significant differences will emerge between plan chunking and alternating conditions. These findings will contribute valuable insights into the constraints and developmental aspects of memory-guided planning. The comparable effectiveness of plan chunking and alternating conditions implies that plan chunking aids working memory by maintaining the necessary sequence during memory-guided planning.

Keywords

Planning , Memory, Developmental change, Episodic/semantic memory , Plan chunking

Research Area

Psychology and Behavioral Sciences

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