Children's use of categorical and spatial clustering strategies for recalling objects

Two experiments were conducted to investigate developmental changes in the use of spatial and categorical clustering strategies in free recall of objects and their locations. In Experiment 1, 8-, 10-, and 12-year-old children viewed several paintings and sculptures located in two galleries in a museum. After viewing the objects, children were taken to a bench outside of the galleries and were asked either to recall the objects or to point in the general direction of each of the objects as they recalled them. Children also performed a second task of planning a tour of the objects. Results showed that only the 12-year-olds who were asked to point to the objects as they recalled them organized their free recall by gallery. None of the other groups used recognizable strategies for organizing their recall. In contrast, many children of all ages used spatial clustering strategies for organizing their tour plans. The second experiment investigated how 10- and 12-year-olds' initial experience with objects and their locations influenced choice of recall strategy. Children hid 16 toy objects comprised of four different categories in four unfamiliar rooms. Before hiding the objects, children either saw (1) the objects grouped by category, (2) the hiding places in each room, or (3) neither the objects nor the hiding places. After hiding the objects, children first performed a free recall of the objects and then performed a free recall of the objects along with their locations. The majority of 10- and 12-year-olds grouped objects by category when recalling only the objects, but when they recalled the objects and their locations together, the majority grouped them by room. The degree to which each strategy was used in the two tasks was also influenced by the initial experiences with the objects and their locations. These results are discussed in terms of task influences on retrieval organization and the relations between the structural of spatial and categorical knowledge.