ABSTRACT
For many cognitive developmental psychologists, improvements in children’s long-term memory have been viewed traditionally as the outcome of corresponding increases in the spontaneous application of sophisticated memorization strategies. Recently, however, there has been a growing awareness that memory development, like cognitive development, consists of the independent and aggregate effects of changes in strategy effectiveness, conceptual knowledge, metamemorial knowledge, and processing efficiency. Associated with this change in perspective is a number of troublesome matters related to the definition and measurement of these factors. First, there is little consensus on what constitutes a strategy. For example, should we restrict the definition of strategic behavior to those situations in which conscious and effortful mnemonic devices are employed, or should we allow for more automatic organizational schemes to be incorporated into the definition of what is strategic? Second, is metamemory a distinct form of knowledge that contributes to memory development by directing strategic operations? Third, and more generally, how can we measure the properties, development, and restructuring of children’s knowledge base (see Bjorklund, 1987; Chi & Ceci, 1987; Rabinowitz & Chi, 1987) in order to determine how different forms of knowledge (e.g., declarative, procedural, etc.) contribute to changes in children’s strategy use and memory performance? Fourth, what role do changes in the efficiency of children’s processing resources (see Bjorklund & Harnishfeger, 1987; Guttentag, 1984, 1985; Pressley, Cariglia-Bull, Deane, & Schneider, 1987) play in the execution of strategies?
