| An important issue in the study of memory development is the nature of the relationship between metamemorial knowledge, i.e. knowledge about memory, and memory behavior. The present study investigated the development of metamemory and memory behavior and the relationship between the two in preschool, kindergarten and second grade children. The development of metamemorial knowledge concerning the utility of four memory strategies was investigated using a paired comparison paradigm. The strategies used were (a) grouping: placing the items in a 3 x 4 matrix by category and naming each group of three together, aloud, two times, (b) repeating: placing the items in a random 3 x 4 matrix and naming each group of three together, aloud, two times, (c) naming: labeling the pictures one at a time, and (d) looking: visually focusing on one picture at a time. Each child was shown all possible pairs of these strategies and for each pair was asked to judge which strategy would result in the highest level of recall.; Strategy use was examined by asking each child to study two sets of pictures for future recall. The strategy used by the child was noted during the study period. Finally, the memory behavior repertoire of the children was investigated by asking each child to imitate the strategies used in the study.; Analyses of the strategy judgment data indicated an initial preference for a looking strategy which, by second grade, changed to a preference for more complex verbal strategies. The preschool children were significantly more likely to choose the looking strategy as the most efficient method of increasing recall than any of the other strategies. The kindergarten children showed no distinct preference for any of the strategies investigated, while the second graders showed a significant preference for the more complex repetition and grouping strategies. The lack of a distinct preference among the kindergarten children appeared to result from inconsistency in strategy judgments which may reflect a transition period during which awareness of memory strategies is beginning to emerge.; The measures of memory behavior obtained, strategy use and strategy imitation, were strikingly similar. The large majority of the preschool and kindergarten children adopted the naming strategy for the memory tasks. This was also the most complex strategy that most of the children in these groups successfully imitated. In contrast, most of the second graders adopted the grouping strategy for the memory task and were also successful in imitating this strategy.; Over the age range investigated there was an increasing relationship between strategy judged optimal on the paired comparison trials and the strategy used on the memory tasks, although the relationship was far from perfect even at the second grade level. A fairly strong relationship was obtained at all age levels between the strategy used on the memory tasks and the most complex strategy imitated.; Implications drawn from the study were, first, that metamemory should be viewed as a system of information which undergoes changes during development and, second, that investigators of the relationship between metamemory and memory behavior should keep in mind the constantly changing nature of both. |
