Relations among Memory, Memory Appraisal, and Memory Strategies

After exposure to lists of 3-10 items, kindergartners through fourth graders placed the items in serial order. Prior to or after recall they estimated whether they could recall either the entire list or selected items on it. Neither task variable affected memory-estimation accuracy. The children also were equally accurate in memory estimation across grades and as accurate as a sample of college students tested on the same task. In a second study, kindergartners through second graders and adults judged what they had recalled after testing on a supraspan list. They then studied the list until they could recall it perfectly. Although adults and children were equally accurate in their initial estimates of recall, adults used that information more skillfully in choosing what to study and deciding when they had studied sufficiently. Skill in memory appraisal was unrelated to recall readiness, absolute level of recall, or choice of strategies for studying.