The Role of Setting Information in Children's Memory Retrieval

Abstract

This study examined the role of setting information in the cued recall of 7- to 11-year-old children. Each of the four experiments had multiple study-test trials with unique triplets of categorically related words (Horse–Pig–Cow), category questions at acquisition, and two-word (Horse–Pig) and one-word (Horse) retrieval cues that re-presented all or only part of the intrinsic context reflecting stimulus classification. Setting information about location was presented before the triplet events, and each experiment contained manipulations of place information at acquisition and in cues at retrieval. The experiments in general showed that place information presented in both acquisition and retrieval significantly facilitates children's use of one-word cues re-presenting “part” of the intrinsic context in recalling event information. The results were consistent with an Orienting Hypothesis about the mechanism of the facilitation. The results suggest overall that setting information may play an important role in constraining children's interpretation of cues representing the intrinsic context of stimulus encoding.