Verbal effects in children's visual recognition memory.

Preschool children were shown line drawings of 12 pairs of items and were asked to describe them. Each child saw elaborated and unelaborated pictures (items interacting vs. not interacting). The children's descriptions were rated as elaborated or unelaborated (interactions mentioned vs. not mentioned). 1 week later, a recognition test was given, with choices between an elaborated and an unelaborated picture for each pair. In general, recognition accuracy was best for elaborated pictures given elaborated descriptions and worst for unelaborated pictures given elaborated descriptions. However, for the younger subjects, 32-55 months old, accuracy was influenced more by type of picture than by type of description; and for older subjects, 56-70 months old, the opposite was true. Apparently, younger preschoolers rely more on visual memory for recognition of this type of picture, and older preschoolers rely more on reconstruction from verbal memory.