Free
recall learning and cognitive development in children
R. Yukawa |
An
exploratory experiment was designed to examine the relations between
memory and schemes of intelligence. Children of kindergarten and
grades 2 and 4 were asked to learn the stimulus figures with a logical
structure of multiplication in a free recall learning (FRL) situation
with repeated trials and recall them 24 hours later (a retention
test, RT), and their total recall on each trial in FRL and RT, the
number of subjects with perfect recall and their recall patterns
were analyzed. It was found: (a) number of items recall was greater
for the list with regular order of presentation than for the list
with irregular order bath in FRL and RT at any grade level; (b) each
treatment group showed only a slight forgetting over 24 hours; (c)
recall patterns of subjects with perfect recall matched well to patterns
considered as an evidence of the intervention of multiplicative operations;
(d) almost all main effects for grade level were attributable to
the differences between kindergarten and grade 4 or 2. Several plausible
explanations of the results were proposed in discussion.
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