Lexical access speed and the development of phonological recoding during immediate serial recall

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Development
• Developmental Psychology
• Memory Research

Background:

• Previous research indicated children verbalize later for serial recall tasks.
• Individual differences in verbal rehearsal development remained unexplained.
• A Registered Replication Report (RRR) provided new data on this topic.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify sources of individual differences in verbal rehearsal development.
• To reanalyze RRR data using mediation analysis.
• To investigate the relationship between naming speed and verbal rehearsal in children's memory.

Main Methods:

• Mediation analysis was applied to data from 934 children aged 5–10 years.
• Isolated naming speed (picture labeling time) was measured.
• Spontaneous verbalization during a serial reconstruction task and recall accuracy were assessed.

Main Results:

• From ages 5–7, naming speed predicted spontaneous verbalization, even without spoken response requirements.
• Naming speed also predicted recall for 6- and 7-year-olds.
• The mediating role of verbalization evolved with age, disappearing by 10 years.
• Similar patterns emerged in delayed recall tasks.

Conclusions:

• Spontaneous phonological recoding emerges around age 5 and improves through early elementary years.
• Phonological recoding becomes automatic for immediate serial recall by age 10.
• Distinguishing phonological recoding from rehearsal is crucial in developmental memory studies.