Two aspects of verbal ability are required for performance of verbal tasks: verbal comprehension (given the most attention); and verbal fluency (slighted by researchers). An information processing approach to how words are generated was used in two studies of 104 third and 61 sixth graders to clarify the relationships between verbal fluency and…

Positively correlated were verbal fluency scores and scores for strategies expected to distinguish levels of verbal fluency among 64 third-graders and 71 sixth-graders. When a smaller sample of similarly aged students completed expanded versions of tasks, results revealed grade and gender differences in strategy use and level of task performance.…