The Development of Clustering in Children's Free Recall

童年时期记忆表现的改善与记忆策略的发展密切相关。了解记忆的习得策略可以帮助教育者和家长发现孩子的困难，并创造支持性的学习环境。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是至关重要的。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。聚类涉及几种依赖于语义理解、工作记忆和处理速度的认知机制。儿童中期（7至10岁）是一个重要的过渡时期：儿童在自发聚集之前首先表现出调解缺陷（即不使用策略），然后表现出生产缺陷（即仅在帮助下使用策略）。为了更好地理解这一发展，我们在本项目中提出了一种分层多项式处理树模型来测量儿童在情景自由回忆中的聚类过程。与广泛使用的行为测量相比，该模型提供了对聚类编码和检索的过程纯粹评估，并在初步研究中揭示了聚类编码的年龄差异。在这个项目中，我们试图回答三个研究问题：(1)聚类的年龄差异是由于编码和/或检索过程造成的吗？(2)儿童在聚类过程中是否先表现为中介缺陷，后表现为生产缺陷？(3)聚类过程的年龄差异是否可以用语义理解、工作记忆和加工速度的差异来解释？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断面和纵向研究。为了研究中介缺陷与产生缺陷，我们将对比儿童获得不同类型支持的实验条件（例如，指令、语义关系任务）和没有支持的控制条件。如果孩子们聚集在一起（只），就会暴露出生产不足；即使得到帮助，如果不聚集在一起，就会出现调解赤字。为了研究语义理解、工作记忆和加工速度对聚类过程发展的影响，我们将进行两波（7岁和10岁）的纵向研究，并与我们的横断面研究结果进行比较。总之，这个项目将使我们能够得出关于如何在儿童中期促进聚类（以及潜在的其他策略）发展的建议，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.