Rehearsal Strategy Effects on Developmental Differences for Recall of a Movement Series

Abstract When learning verbal information, an important aspect of practice is the method of rehearsal, which has been demonstrated to vary developmentally. A young child practices on an instance-by-instance basis (passive rehearsal), whereas older children and adults practice several items together (active rehearsal). This study investigated the effects of passive and active rehearsal on developmental processing differences for movement reproduction. Three methods of rehearsal were used at ages 5, 7, 11, and 19 years. A child-like strategy forced the subjects to practice location cues for each of eight movements, which were presented one at a time. The mature-strategy group practiced each new position presented with two previously presented positions. A subject-determined strategy group which allowed subjects to choose their own methods of rehearsal was included as a control. Significant ANOVAs supported the hypothesis that quality of rehearsal (active over passive) is important. For the 5- and 7-year-old children, a mature strategy facilitated performance over the child-like strategy, while the use of a child-like strategy hindered the performance when compared to a self-determined or mature strategy. The results of this study indicated the importance of active rehearsal for the younger child.