Children's concurrent use of rehearsal and organizational strategies.

This study examined whether children could benefit from the simultaneous use of two mnemonic strategies. In Experiment 1, 3rd and 6th graders were taught to use the rehearsal and organizational strategies of same- or different-aged peers. At both ages, Ss who used developmentally advanced techniques recalled more than those who sorted and rehearsed like younger children; moreover, use of both efficient strategies together increased recall additively. In Experiment 2, 3rd graders rehearsed in any way they wished while learning taxonomically related or unrelated items. With each type of materials, 4 groups differed in whether the items were left visible, in whether Ss were asked to sort, and, if so, in whether they were instructed to sort to "help them remember" or on the basis of meaning. Those Ss instructed to sort showed higher recall and more active rehearsal, regardless of type of sort instructions or items. Thus, the use of one strategy may elicit effective use of another. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Retrieving for rehearsal: An analysis of active rehearsal in children's memory.

Two experiments with 96 2nd graders and 24 6th graders explored the operation of retrieval processes in Ss' active rehearsal strategies. Both experiments used free-recall tasks, in which Ss were given instructions in active rehearsal as well as supports that might facilitate the retrieval operation and thus enhance both rehearsal and recall performance. In Exp I, 2nd and 6th graders were given visual or auditory access to an 18-item stimulus-word list. Results show that, by providing 2nd graders with an opportunity to view previously presented words, rehearsal activity and recall increased substantially, whereas the performance of the 6th graders was not affected. In Exp II, presentation time and visual access to a similar 18-word list were manipulated for 2nd graders. Results show that the provision of extra time for an item enabled Ss to execute a more active rehearsal strategy. Extra time had only minimal effects on recall, except when it was combined with visual access to the items. Findings suggest that retrieval per se is not necessary for the beneficial effects of active rehearsal, if other procedures can be followed to permit the juxtaposition of several items in rehearsal. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Distributed rehearsals and the primacy effect in single-trial free recall.

In this study we repeated Rundus and Atkinson's (1970) overt rehearsal free-recall task to show that there exists a type of rehearsal, called distributed rehearsal, that is associated with strong recall effects. The probability of recall of items that received a single distributed rehearsal was increased by about .45 over items receiving zero distributed rehearsals. Items receiving two distributed rehearsals were recalled with a probability of .90 or greater. In contrast, total rehearsal time, although significant, was associated with smaller effects. Words that received at least one distributed rehearsal were typically rehearsed intermittently and carried to the end of the list; their effective retention interval was close to zero. The results indicate that the primacy effect is not associated with total rehearsal time, as has been previously assumed, but rather with the probability that a word receives one or more distributed rehearsals. This probability decreases rapidly with input position. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Categorization as a preferred memory strategy: Developmental changes during elementary school.

20 2nd, 20 4th, and 20 6th graders (a) judged the relative effectiveness of 4 memory strategies (looking, naming, rehearsing, and categorizing) and (b) studied and recalled sets of stimuli. The order of tasks was counterbalanced within grade. Ss in all grades chose rehearsal and categorization over looking or naming. Second graders in both conditions and 4th graders who did the memory tasks first judged rehearsal and categorization as equally effective. Fourth graders who made strategy judgments first and 6th graders in both conditions significantly preferred categorization over rehearsal. On the memory task, 4th graders who judged strategy effectiveness prior to doing the memory tasks recalled more than those doing the memory task first. There was no difference due to condition for the other 2 grades. Degree of strategic awareness was related to recall only for children who made the strategy judgment prior to doing the memory tasks. Findings illustrate developmental changes in awareness of the relative benefits of categorization over rehearsal during elementary school and suggest that performance on a memory task may be affected by the degree to which appropriate metamemorial awareness is "activated." (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of serial rehearsal training on memory search.

Examined the effects of storage processing on short-term memory search. 32 moderate and 32 high IQ 4th-5th graders were given an S. Sternberg (1966, 1969) recognition memory task. Half of the Ss were trained to use a serial rehearsal strategy during target set storage, and half were given no specific strategy training. The training variable was crossed with rehearsal requirement (overt or covert) so that storage processing could be monitored directly. Dependent measures included S-paced study times, overt rehearsals, and reaction times. Results indicate IQ-related differences in the rate of memory search in the absence of differences in rehearsal during storage. In addition, serial rehearsal training facilitated memory search when rehearsal was covert, particularly for high IQ Ss. The data are discussed with regard to target set storage resulting from a serial rehearsal pattern and to the apparent inverse relationship between IQ and memory-search rate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A recency-based account of the primacy effect in free recall.

Seven experiments investigated the role of rehearsal in free recall to determine whether accounts of recency effects based on the ratio rule could be extended to provide an account of primacy effects based on the number, distribution, and recency of the rehearsals of the study items. Primacy items were rehearsed more often and further toward the end of the list than middle items, particularly with a slow presentation rate (Experiment 1) and with high-frequency words (Experiment 2). Recency, but not primacy, was reduced by a filled delay (Experiment 3), although significant recency survived a filled retention interval when a fixed-rehearsal strategy was used (Experiment 4). Experimenter-presented schedules of rehearsals resulted in similar serial position curves to those observed with participant generated rehearsals (Experiment 5) and were used to confirm the main findings in Experiments 6 and 7. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Lexical memory in poor and normal readers: Developmental differences in the use of category cues.

Examined whether differences between poor and normal reading children on lexical memory tasks may be attributed to semantic development, using 80 2nd and 6th graders. Ss were presented with 4 lists of taxonomic categories and were asked to recall items under (a) noncued and random conditions, with Ss instructed to recall as many items as possible and (b) cued and blocked conditions, with Ss told to recall items in a category. All Ss performed better with category cues. Group differences on category recall were more reliable at Grade 6, suggesting that facility in accessing taxonomic categories may differentiate poor and normal readers more reliably at older age levels. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Organization versus item effects of an elaborated knowledge base on children's memory.

Investigated the extent to which the high levels of recall and organization observed when children are asked to recall their classmates' names (class recall) can be attributed to organizational vs item-specific effects. Ss were 109 1st, 3rd, and 5th graders. Levels of clustering in class recall were elevated when Ss were constrained to recall their classmates' names according to specific organizational schemes (either sex or seating arrangement). However, there was no evidence that changes in levels or styles of organization influenced levels of memory performance or which names were recalled. Results indicate that some of the benefits on memory of an elaborated knowledge base cannot be attributed to differences in organization (either strategic or automatic) but rather are due to differences in the ease with which individual items can be retrieved. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitude accessibility as a moderator of autonomic reactivity during decision making.

Attitude functionality was assessed in 2 experiments examining attitude accessibility as a moderator of physiological responses during decision making. In Study 1, experimental Ss but not controls rehearsed attitudes toward novel objects (abstract paintings). Subsequently, all Ss made rapid preference judgments for pairs of the paintings. In Study 2, attitudes were rehearsed by all Ss toward 1 of 2 mutually exclusive sets of abstract paintings. During the subsequent decision-making task, half the Ss made rapid pairwise preference judgments for rehearsed abstract paintings and half for pairs from the unrehearsed set. Autonomic measures were recorded continuously throughout both experiments. As predicted, in both experiments less autonomic reactivity was evident during the criterion pairwise preference task for groups for whom attitude rehearsal was relevant to the criterion task. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of causal attributions about recall performance to assess metamemory and predict strategic memory behavior in young children.

27 1st graders and 24 2nd graders were exposed to a memory task in which their recall performance varied as a function of their incidentally elicited sorting behavior. When asked what had affected their recall, only some Ss at each grade identified sorting as a causal factor, although all had used sorting. Attributions about sorting could not be accounted for by differential memory for sorting behavior or by differential use of sorting on previous trials. Causal attributions, but neither previous sorting nor nonattributional verbal reports about sorting behavior, predicted use of a sorting strategy in a standard, study-recall task 1 wk later. Ss who had attributed recall to sorting tended not to use rehearsal strategies on the subsequent task, suggesting that causal attributions reflected their views about what were the most important influences on recall. Ss' ability to assess their recall performance and their insight into possible mechanisms by which sorting affects recall are discussed as avenues for future research into how children acquire their ideas about factors that affect memory. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The primacy model: a new model of immediate serial recall

A new model of immediate serial recall is presented: the primacy model. The primacy model stores order information by means of the assumption that the strength of activation of successive list items decreases across list position to form a primacy gradient. Ordered recall is supported by a repeated cycle of operations involving a noisy choice of the most active item followed by suppression of the chosen item. Word-length and list-length effects are attributed to a decay process that occurs both during input, when effective rehearsal is prevented, and during output. The phonological similarity effect is attributed to a second stage of processing at which phonological confusions occur. The primacy model produces accurate simulations of the effects of word length, list length, and phonological similarity.     

Developmental changes in assessing recall and recognition memory capacity.

32 1st graders, 32 5th graders, and 32 college students were asked to predict how many orally presented nouns they would later be able to (a) recall or (b) recognize. Based on a "task familiarity" argument, it was anticipated that quite different developmental patterns would be obtained on the 2 tasks. As expected, large developmental differences in prediction accuracy emerged on the recall task but not on the recognition task. Following actual task experience and feedback concerning performance, Ss at all ages made more accurate predictions about a hypothetical 2nd list even though the original developmental patterns still remained. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of item-specific information for the serial position curve in free recall.

The serial position curve in free recall of a list of action phrases differs depending on whether the phrases were memorized by listening/reading (verbal task; VT) or by additionally enacting the denoted actions (subject-performed task; SPT). In VTs there is a clear primacy effect and a short recency effect. In SPTs there is no primacy effect but an extended recency effect. H. D. Zimmer, T. Helstrup, and J. Engelkamp (2000) assumed that SPTs provide excellent item-specific information, which leads to an automatic pop-out of the items presented last. In the present study, the authors assumed that good item-specific encoding generally enhances the recency effect and that it hinders rehearsal processes and thereby reduces the primacy effect. This assumption was confirmed. An item-specific orienting task leads to parallel serial position curves in VTs and SPTs with no primacy effect but a clear recency effect. Moreover, the same serial position effects were shown with nouns as learning material. An item-specific orienting task changes the classical U-shaped serial position curve with verbal material and leads to the disappearance of the primacy and the enhancement of the recency effect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of talker variability on recall of spoken word lists.

Three experiments were conducted to investigate recall of lists of words containing items spoken by either a single talker or by different talkers. In each experiment, recall of early list items was better for lists spoken by a single talker than for lists of the same words spoken by different talkers. The use of a memory preload procedure demonstrated that recall of visually presented preload digits was superior when the words in a subsequent list were spoken by a single talker than by different talkers. In addition, a retroactive interference task demonstrated that the effects of talker variability on the recall of early list items were not due to use of talker-specific acoustic cues in working memory at the time of recall. Taken together, the results suggest that word lists produced by different talkers require more processing resources in working memory than do lists produced by a single talker. The findings are discussed in terms of the role that active rehearsal plays in the transfer of spoken items into long-term memory and the factors that may affect the efficiency of rehearsal. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Memory organization during children's repeated recall.

Presented a list of categorically related words to 20 2nd graders and 20 6th graders in a memory test. Multiple recall tests followed the initial presentation of words so that changes in memory organization could be assessed over recall attempts. Ss in both grades remembered many new words on later recall trials that they had not remembered on Trial 1. The proportions of new words recalled and the retrieval characteristics of these words were similar in both grades. Younger Ss, however, forgot many words during repeated recall, and older Ss did not. Different patterns of forgetting were correlated with different types of organizational strategies. Second graders recalled words in a sequential, rote manner with few transformations or rearrangements of words. Sixth graders, on the other hand, actively constructed larger categories or chunks of words over recall attempts. The spontaneous reconstruction of remembered information by 6th graders is interpreted as a manifestation of constructive memory-monitoring skills. Some potential advantages of a repeated recall paradigm for developmental research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recency judgments in children: A production deficiency in the use of redundant background cues.

Presented 8 20-picture lists to 40 2nd and 40 4th graders, and each list followed by 3 test pairs, each pair repeating 2 list items. Ss were required to pick the item they had seen more recently on the list. Background color cues were provided, and half the Ss were instructed in using the cues to simplify the task. Difficulty of the recency judgments was also varied by increasing the separation between the 1st presentation of the tested items from 3 to 9 items. The wider the separation, the better the judgment of relative recency. On cue problems, training improved the performance of 2nd graders but not 4th graders. The developmental implications of the study are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental differences in organization and recall: Training in the use of organizational techniques.

Used an alternating sort-recall procedure in 3 experiments to train 204 elementary school children in the use of organizational techniques as memory aids. All Ss sorted a group of words into 2–7 categories, and some Ss were required to learn the sorting patterns generated by adults. In Exp I, the semantic sophistication of a S's sorting style predicted recall performance. Further, the tendency to improve memory performance as a result of being constrained to adult sorting patterns varied with age; constrained 5th graders significantly improved their recall, whereas the recall of 3rd and 7th grade Ss was not affected by this training. However, more detailed organizational training in Exp II facilitated the recall of 3rd graders. In Exp II, it was found that the constraining procedure was not necessary for facilitation to be observed. Rather, instructions to group words on the basis of meaning were sufficient to produce improved recall. Further, improvements in sorting style accompanied all significant changes in recall. Findings are discussed in terms of a discrepancy between the information which a child has in permanent memory and that which he uses spontaneously in the context of a memorization task. The importance of input organization as a mediating factor in memory performance and development is suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Can recall differences among children be attributed to rehearsal effects?

Investigated the interrelationship between children's recall performance and the production deficiency hypothesis. 135 kindergarten through 4th grade children were classified as producers or nonproducers according to whether they engaged in spontaneous verbal rehearsal between stimulus presentation and recall. For both groups, either rehearsal was subsequently prevented by interpolating a verbal task prior to recall, or rehearsal was trained. Results indicate that (a) even when rehearsal was prevented, producers recalled significantly more items than nonproducers, and (b) instructions to rehearse did increase nonproducers' performance, as in previous studies, but when the data were free to vary in both directions, nonproducers' recall level was still significantly lower than producers'. An approximate 1-item recall difference between the 2 groups persisted across the 3 studies, indicating the insufficiency of the production deficiency hypothesis in accounting for the recall differences between the groups. The nature of the residual difference is explored in terms of a potential underlying memory span advantage or a general encoding advantage correlated with the producer group. (French summary) (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Effect of the Length of To-Be-Remembered Lists and Intervening Lists on Free Recall: A Reexamination Using Overt Rehearsal.

In 3 experiments, the authors investigated the effects of to-be-remembered (TBR) and intervening list length on free recall to determine whether selective rehearsal could explain the previous finding that recall was affected only by TBR list length. In Experiments 1 (covert rehearsal) and 2 (overt rehearsal), participants saw 5- and 20-word lists and had to recall the list prior to that last presented list. In Experiment 3, either 1 or 2 lists were presented, and recall of TBR list was postcued. Recall proportion decreased with increased TBR list length. Moreover, the authors found extended recency effects when recall was replotted by when words were last rehearsed (Experiments 2 and 3) and an effect of intervening list length when rehearsal was reduced (Experiment 3). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's generation and communication of mnemonic organizational strategies.

Using a series of alternating sort/recall trials, whether 108 1st, 3rd, and 6th graders' experience with categorically related items would facilitate their subsequent organization and recall of low-associated items was explored. Results indicate that 3rd graders exposed to the categorized materials recalled more low-associated items and demonstrated greater organization in sorting and recall than did 3rd graders with previous experience with low-associated materials. Sixth graders' performance with low-associated materials was not affected by their previous experience. Following the memory task, each S provided answers to a series of metamemory questions and then instructed a 1st-grade child in how to perform the memory task. The instructions given to the 1st graders, as well as the performance of these younger children, reflected the older children's differential experience with taxonomic vs low-associated materials. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)