The experiential facilitation of memory development in the home environment

Relationships among young children's home experiences, their memory knowledge, and their memory-task performance were examined. The participants were 78 children in 2nd and 3rd grades and their families. The children were administered 2 study-recall memory tasks and a memory-knowledge questionnaire. Home experiences were assessed with data gathered during a home visit and from a parents' self-report questionnaire. Specific home experiences that relate to the development of memory knowledge and memory-task performance were identified. Regression analyses supported a hypothesized theoretical model in which the influence of home experiences on memory-task performance is, at least partially, a function of the relationship between parents' requirements for self-regulation and self-responsibility and the development of children's knowledge about memory requirements and memory strategies.