Progressive elaboration and memory for order in children

Three experiments were conducted investigating memory for items and order in a progressive elaboration paired-associates task. For all subjects retention of item information was improved by the use of progressively elaborated interactions relative to a no-elaboration control condition. For second and fourth graders, retention of order information depended upon the type of elaboration. If successive interactions were added in a logical temporal order, retention (of order information) was superior to the case where the successive interactions were added in a random order. This effect was not obtained with kindergarten children. In the second and third experiments, kindergarteners were instructed regarding the sequencing of the successive items, and results similar to those obtained with older children ensued. The data were discussed in terms of Tulving's distinction between episodic and semantic memory.