Schematic Knowledge and Memory in Young Children

Abstract

This research examined the relationship between domain-specific knowledge and memory in 3 and 4-year-old children. Schematic knowledge of a farm and a living room was assessed by asking children to (a) decide what objects belonged in a given scene, and (b) place objects on scenes. Both recall and location memory were assessed for objects in scenes. General memory skills were assessed for recall and location memory using unrelated objects, and general knowledge was measured with the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. For location memory, schematic knowledge and memory were unrelated for 3-year-olds but were significantly correlated for 4-year-olds. Recall performance was not reliably predicted by schematic knowledge. Three-year-olds' location memory in scenes, but not 4-year-olds', was predicted by location memory for unrelated objects. Vocabulary scores were related to schematic knowledge, but not scene memory. Domain-specific knowledge was differentially related to memory as a function of age, suggesting that the relative importance of predictors for memory may vary with age. Supplementary analyses indicated that object typicality for scenes did not predict memory, but that the size of objects did predict what objects would be remembered.