Children's metamemory about the influence of conceptual relations on recall

Developmental differences in children's metamemory about the influence of conceptual relations on free recall were examined. First, third, and fifth grade children memorized two lists of words, a two-category (items blocked by category) and an unrelated list. On both lists, four metamemory measures were obtained from each subject. These were estimates of recall performance, estimates of the cognitive effort associated with that recall performance, causal attributions about recall, and reports of strategy use. At each grade, subjects recalled more words on the related than the unrelated list and demonstrated reliable clustering at recall for the related words. Metamemory about the influence of conceptual relations was demonstrated at each grade level, but the nature of that metamemory changed with age. Even the youngest children realized that their recall performance would be superior on the related list but they did not understand how or why their recall was facilitated. With age, children attributed superior recall of the related material to the categorical relations in the stimuli, reported using categorical organization strategies, and demonstrated increasing awareness of the facilitative effects of conceptual relations on cognitive effort. Older children used their metamemory to direct their use of organizational strategies and to enhance recall on the related list. However, the four aspects of metamemory were not well coordinated at any grade level. The findings are discussed in terms of the importance of developing comprehensive, well-elaborated models of metamemory development.