A short-term memory task was used to explore the effects of verbal labeling and rehearsal on serial-position recall in mildly retarded 9-to 11-year-old children. Results support the view that verbal skills affect recall in mildly retarded children similarly to normal children. (Author/SDH)

A primary purpose of the present study was the evaluation of possible differences in process between the recall and anticipation methods of serial learning. (Author)

Asks if current interference theory will also predict proactive inhibition in serial learning. Proactive inhibition is the result, at least in part, of a particular type of deficit in second-list learning. (Author/RK)

Whereas some research on immediate recall of verbal lists has suggested that it is limited by the number of chunks that can be recalled (e.g., N. Cowan, Z. Chen, & J. N. Rouder, 2004; E. Tulving & J. E. Patkau, 1962), other research has suggested that it is limited by the length of the material to be recalled (e.g., A. D. Baddeley, N. Thomson, &…

This study investigates (1) the relationship of two potentially valuable measures of sequential processing to each other and to a measure of digit span, and (2) the relationships among tests of sequential processing and other measures of cognitive functioning. Subjects were 188 first grade students who had been screened in kindergarten for risk of…

Forty-eight grade-three children and 48 grade-eight children were presented respectively with six- and eight-letter sequences for written free recall. The older children, as had adult subjects in previous studies, showed a greater tendency to recall serially with a four-letters-per-second presentation rate than with a half- or…

The relation between individual differences in verbal ability and memory for order was investigated. Results indicated that (1) order and item information may be retained separately; (2) verbal ability is related to short-term recall but not recognition of order; and (3) transformation of order at output increases the relation. (Author/RD)

Four experiments examined the effect of input sequence on memory for simple stories. After reading stories written in either chronological or flashback sequence, subjects made a decision about the underlying order of occurrence of two events. Responses were consistently faster and more accurate on chronological sequences under three conditions of…

This study focused on the issue of whether "scripts" guide children's comprehension and recall of stories. Two groups of kindergarten and second-grade children (N=48) from middle class elementary school districts were told two stories about typical events in the life of a young child (eating dinner and going to bed). Children were asked to recall…

Reduced verbal working memory capacity has been proposed as a possible account of language impairments in specific language impairment (SLI). Studies have shown, however, that differences in strength of linguistic representations in the form of word frequency affect list recall and performance on verbal working memory tasks. This suggests that…

To address the notion that the cognitive level of young children influences their ability to recall the logical sequence found in stories, four modes of language--story generation, retelling, dictation, and writing--were collected for three weeks from 35 second grade children. Through prior testing with the Goldschmid-Bentler Concept Assessment…

The study investigates the effects of linguistic medium (English vs. Chinese), mode of stimulus presentation (visual vs. auditory), and noun frequency on short-term serial recall and serial learning. The results indicate that auditory input facilitates learning for American subjects but not for Taiwanese subjects, who learned somewhat faster with…

Background: Individuals with Down syndrome consistently perform less well than appropriately matched comparison groups on tests of verbal short-term memory, despite performing relatively well on non-verbal short-term memory tasks. However, it is not clear whether these findings constitute evidence for a selective deficit in verbal short-term…