Distinctiveness Effects in Children's Long-Term Retention

In 3 experiments, kindergarten and second-grade children's retention was examined in the context of 2 distinctiveness manipulations, namely, the von Restorff and bizarre imagery paradigms. Specifically, children learned lists of pictures (Experiments 1a and 1b) or interactive images (Experiment...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Developmental psychology 2000-11, Vol.36 (6), p.778-792
Main Authors: Howe, Mark L, Courage, Mary L, Vernescu, Roxana, Hunt, Melvine
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age Differences
Age Factors
Analysis of Variance
Biological and medical sciences
Bizarre imagery
Child
Child Development
Child, Preschool
Children
Cognition
Cognitive Development
Comparative Analysis
Concept Formation
Developmental psychology
Distinctiveness
Distinctiveness Effect
Elementary School Students
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Human
Humans
Imagination
Learning Strategies
Long Term Memory
Male
Memory
Mental Recall
Performance Factors
Pictures
Primary Education
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Recall
Recall (Psychology)
Retention
Retention (Psychology)
Visual Perception
Visual Stimuli
Von Restorff Isolation Effect
Young children
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Summary:In 3 experiments, kindergarten and second-grade children's retention was examined in the context of 2 distinctiveness manipulations, namely, the von Restorff and bizarre imagery paradigms. Specifically, children learned lists of pictures (Experiments 1a and 1b) or interactive images (Experiment 2) and were asked to recall them 3 weeks later. In Experiments 1a and 1b, distinctiveness was manipulated perceptually (changing colors) and conceptually (changing categories or switching to a numeral), whereas in Experiment 2, distinctiveness concerned the interaction (common or bizarre) between the referents. The results showed that (a) older children retained more information than younger children, (b) younger but not older children failed to benefit from numerically distinct information, and (c) distinctiveness in other domains facilitated children's retention. These results highlight the importance of distinctive information in children's retention.
ISSN:0012-1649
1939-0599
DOI:10.1037/0012-1649.36.6.778