CLUSTERING AND PRIORITY OF FREE RECALL OF NEWLY LEARNED ITEMS IN CHILDREN

40 children, aged 4-13, learned by free recall mixed lists of 4-word conceptually related clusters with equal numbers of mutually unrelated words. Marked clustering was demonstrated which did not vary significantly with age. Priority of recall of newly learned items (PRNI) was demonstrated in 31 of the 40 Ss, and did not increase consistently with age. Results indicate that organizational processes and selective attention to new or previously unlearned items are found even in very young children, rather than being secondary strategies important only in adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.