Statistical learning abilities decline from age 7 to 14, study finds

A longitudinal study tracking the same children at ages 7, 8, 11, and 14 found that statistical learning abilities decline with age, contrary to earlier cross-sectional research suggesting improvement into early adolescence. Higher executive functions were associated with this decline. The research, published in an open-access article, used linear mixed models and latent class analyses on repeated assessments of the same participants. This approach provides stronger evidence than previous cross-sectional studies, which had hinted at enhanced learning up to ages 11-13 before a decline into adulthood. Statistical learning is fundamental for extracting patterns from the environment to predict future events, supporting motor, cognitive, and linguistic skills. The study was funded by Hungarian and French research programs, including the National Brain Research Programme and the French National Research Agency.