Short-Term Memory Performance and Metamemory Judgments in Preschool and Early School-Age Children: A Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis

摘要: ABSTRACT The developmental progression in short-term memory (STM) is well-documented throughout childhood. Most research has emphasized the verbal domain, and less known about visual-spatial systematic improvement. We conducted a cross-sectional study assessing 4 age groups of preschool school-aged children (N = 223): Age Group 1 (mean 50 months), 2 71 3 87 months) 96 months). STM performances across all groups, as well preschoolers' metamemory judgments (concerning their strategies) were investigated. Regarding response accuracy, we found that span performance increased four on tasks. School aged made better use recoding familiar visual stimuli (colors objects); only these visual, but verbally-recodable tasks did also find gender effect children, girls outperforming boys. total number errors decreased with age. Finally, regarding metamemory, most preschoolers able to make strategies they used encode memoranda (i.e. spontaneous rehearsal coding stimuli). KEYWORDS: memory, simple span, error analysis, metamemory. INTRODUCTION Short-term represents temporarily availability information can be carry out various types mental (Cowan et al., 1999). store limited its capacity: although through mnemonic (e.g. chunking) adults remember up seven elements (Miller, 1956), real capacity limit three or elements, similar amount simultaneously sustained focus attention (Cowan, 1995; Halberda, Simons, & Wetherhold, 2006), what Sperling (1960) called "the apprehension". story this construct been inextricably linked one working (WM), latter representing an active system responsible for temporary maintenance simultaneous processing typically required complex cognitive (Baddeley, 1986). A note should at point: infants very young distinction between WM blurred perspectives are contradictory; will present main arguments existing positions since basic reasoning generalized older preschoolers. On hand, researchers such Reznick (2007) argue retention infancy actually index WM. He concludes after critical analysis widely testing procedures infants: hide-find method (a delayed-response task), observe-perform (action sequence re-enactment delay), familiarize-recognize procedure. leads common caution related ability design rule possible confounds (alternative explanations): long-term mechanisms, reactions violations expectations, motivation motor competence. This researcher's preference term (although not identical significance adults) order characterize children's based motivations: 1) "naturalistic" request WM, opposed more artificial tasks, 2) executive requirements, specific tasks; 3) proofs early emergence during problem-solving scenarios. other Oakes, Ross Sheehy, Luck opposite claim, suggesting it difficult assess "workings" because case processes might bottom-up driven, thus favoring alternative terminology characterizing processes. …