The Effect of Articulatory Rehearsal on Dual-Retrieval Processes in Semantically Related List Recall: A Comparison between 8-10-year-old Children and Young Adults

When asked to remember list of items for later testing, we often repeat earlier items to ourselves as later items are presented. This process, called "rehearsal," develops gradually during childhood. The present study examined the role of rehearsal in recalling lists of semantically related words and used the dual-retrieval model to pinpoint the retrieval processes modified by rehearsal in 8-10-year-olds and young adults. Thirty-one children (Mage = 8.8 years, SD = 0.5, 12 females and 19 males) and 31 adults (Mage = 20.5 years, SD = 2.7, 23 females and 6 males) performed a complex span task consisting of maintaining words to be recalled later in immediate and delayed tests, while performing a concurrent task. Participants performed the task either silently, which allowed them to use rehearsal, or under articulatory suppression, which reduced rehearsal opportunities. The results showed that although adults had a higher correct recall rate, children benefited from rehearsal opportunities for immediate and delayed correct recall. Semantic errors were also fewer in both age groups when rehearsal could be used. The dual-retrieval model revealed that rehearsal fosters direct access to verbatim memory of items and reconstruction of items based on gist memory. Finally, the difference in correct recall and direct access between the two age groups decreased when rehearsal could be used. These findings suggest that, although rehearsal is less efficient for 8-10-year-olds than for adults, children benefit more than adults do from rehearsal for correct recall and direct access to verbatim traces.