The Development of Clustering in Children's Free Recall

童年时期记忆能力的提高与记忆策略的发展密切相关。了解记忆策略的获得可以帮助教育工作者和家长发现儿童的困难，并创造支持学习的环境。因此，确定记忆策略何时以及如何发展并识别潜在的认知过程至关重要。聚类，即在语义相关的组中记忆信息，是一种非常有用的记忆策略。聚类涉及几种认知机制，这些机制取决于语义理解、工作记忆和处理速度。童年中期（7至10岁）是一个重要的过渡时期：儿童首先表现出中介缺陷（即，无策略使用）和随后的生产赤字（即，仅在帮助下使用策略）。为了更好地理解这一发展，我们建议在这个项目中，以衡量儿童的集群在情节自由回忆与层次多项式加工树模型的过程。这个模型，在广泛使用的行为措施，提供过程纯粹的评估集群编码和检索，并在初步研究中，显示集群编码的年龄差异。在这个项目中，我们试图回答三个研究问题：（1）年龄差异的聚类是由于编码和/或检索过程？(2)儿童首先表现出调解赤字，后来生产赤字集群过程？(3)聚类过程中的年龄差异可以用语义理解、工作记忆和处理速度的差异来解释吗？为了回答这些问题，我们将对7岁儿童、10岁儿童和年轻人进行一系列横向和纵向研究。为了研究中介与生产缺陷，我们将对比实验条件，其中儿童接受不同类型的支持与集群（例如，指令、语义关系上的任务）和无支持的控制条件。生产赤字将显示，如果儿童集群与帮助（只有）;调解赤字将显示，如果他们不集群，即使有帮助。为了考察语义理解、工作记忆和加工速度对集群加工发展的影响，我们将进行两波（7岁和10岁）的纵向研究，并将结果与我们的横断面研究进行比较。总之，这个项目将使我们能够得出建议，如何促进集群（和潜在的其他策略）在童年中期的发展，从而提高儿童的记忆表现。

Improvements in memory performance across childhood are closely related to the development of memory strategies. Understanding the acquisition of memory strategies can help educators and parents to detect difficulties that children have and to create supporting learning environments. It is therefore essential to determine when and how memory strategies develop and to identify underlying cognitive processes. Clustering, that is, memorizing information in semantically related groups, is a highly useful memory strategy. Clustering involves several cognitive mechanisms that depend on semantic understanding, working memory, and processing speed. Middle childhood (ages 7 to 10 years) is an important transitional period: Children first show a mediation deficit (i.e., no strategy use) and then a production deficit (i.e., strategy use with help only) before they cluster spontaneously. To better understand this development, we propose in this project to measure the processes underlying children’s clustering in episodic free recall with a hierarchical multinomial processing tree model. This model, in contrast to widely used behavioral measures, offers process pure assessment of cluster encoding and retrieval, and in a preliminary study, revealed age differences in cluster encoding. In this project, we seek to answer three research questions: (1) Are age differences in clustering due to encoding and/or retrieval processes? (2) Do children first show a mediation deficit and later a production deficit in clustering processes? (3) Can age differences in clustering processes be explained by differences in semantic understanding, working memory, and processing speed? To answer these questions, we will perform a series of cross-sectional and longitudinal studies with 7-year-old children, 10-year-old children, and young adults. To investigate mediation versus production deficits, we will contrast experimental conditions in which children receive different types of support with clustering (e.g., instructions, tasks on semantic relations) and control conditions without support. A production deficit will be revealed if children cluster with help (only); a mediation deficit will be revealed if they do not cluster even with help. To investigate the influence of semantic understanding, working memory, and processing speed on the development of clustering processes, we will conduct a longitudinal study with two waves (at ages 7 and 10), and compare the results with those of our cross-sectional studies. In sum, this project will allow us to derive recommendations on how to foster the development of clustering (and potentially other strategies) in middle childhood and to thereby enhance children’s memory performance.