THE EFFECTS OF VISUAL, VERBAL, AND MOTOR ELABORATIONS ON PRESCHOOL CHILDREN'S RECALL AND COMPREHENSION OF PROSE

Abstract

This study examined the differential effect of dynamic (visual and motor) and static (visual and verbal) elaborations on preschool children's Immediate and delayed memory (recall of explicit content) and comprehension (recall of Implicit content) of prose. Eighty children, ages 3 1/2 to 5 1/2 years were randomly assigned to five treatment groups: 1) Read (R) condition ‐ unelaborated single reading of story; 2) Read‐Read (RR) condition ‐ two consecutive readings (static verbal elaboration); 3) Visual (S) condition ‐ story + observation of stationary representational props (static visual elaboration); 4) Experimenter‐Manipulate (E‐M) condition ‐ story + observation of experimenter manipulating props (dynamic visual elaboration); and 5) Subject‐Manipulate (S‐M) condition ‐ story + self manipulation of props (dynamic visual‐motor elaboration). As predicted, Ss In E‐M and S‐M conditions generally exhibited greater Immediate and delayed recall of both explicit and Implicit content than did Ss In the R condition. Unexpectedly, few differences were obtained between the dynamic and static conditions, or between the static RR and S conditions, although these results were obscured by age differences and question set Interactions. However, a relatively consistent trend was revealed In the data ‐ while dynamic visual‐motor elaborations enhanced both explicit and Implicit memory, static verbal elaborations generally enhanced only explicit recall. The superior recall of children In the E‐M and S‐M conditions was Interpreted as supporting the proposition that dynamic visual and motor elaborations of prose Induce Interactive Imagery In children as young as 3 1/2 to 5 1/2 years of age, and thereby enhance both their rote memory and constructive Inferential processing of information.