Memory Coding for Binary Sequences in Children

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Younger children with a short memory span and older children with a long memory span recalled binary word sequences of different structure. It was found that the difficulty of recall was mainly determined by the run-structure but not by the cyclicity of the sequences. Incorrectly recalled sequences were systematically analysed in terms of two supposed coding mechanisms, i.e. “feature extraction” and “pattern imposition”. It could be demonstrated that certain features of the presented sequences were preserved while others usually were not. While the extracted feature served as a basis for reconstruction of the sequence in recall, the obtained sequences showed in addition certain characteristics which appeared to be unrelated to the input. Some differences in the efficiency of coding were found between 4- and 6-year-olds. However, it appeared that the coding strategies were similar at lower and higher levels of memory capacity and development.