The Development of Clustering in Children's Free Recall

儿童时期记忆成绩的提高与记忆策略的发展密切相关。了解记忆策略的习得可以帮助教育工作者和家长发现儿童存在的困难，并创造支持性的学习环境。因此，必须确定记忆策略何时以及如何发展，并确定潜在的认知过程。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。集群涉及几种认知机制，这些机制依赖于语义理解、工作记忆和处理速度。儿童期中期(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(即不使用策略)，然后表现出生产缺陷(即仅在帮助下使用策略)，然后自发聚集。为了更好地理解这一发展，我们在本项目中建议使用分层多项式加工树模型来测量儿童在情节自由回忆中的聚集过程。与广泛使用的行为测量相比，该模型提供了对集群编码和提取的过程纯评估，并在初步研究中揭示了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)年龄差异是否源于编码和/或提取过程？(2)儿童在聚集过程中是否先表现出中介缺陷，然后表现出产出缺陷？(3)聚集过程中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岁的儿童、10岁的儿童和年轻人进行一系列的横断面和纵向研究。为了考察中介作用与产出缺陷的关系，我们将把儿童获得不同类型支持的实验条件与集群(例如，关于语义关系的指令、任务)和没有支持的控制条件进行对比。如果儿童聚集在帮助下(仅)，则会显示产量赤字；如果他们即使在帮助下也不聚集，则会显示中介赤字。为了考察语义理解、工作记忆和加工速度对集群过程发展的影响，我们对7岁和10岁的两个波群进行了纵向研究，并将结果与我们的横断面研究结果进行了比较。总而言之，这个项目将使我们能够就如何促进儿童中期集群(以及可能的其他策略)的发展，从而提高儿童的记忆表现提出建议。

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.