The Development of Inferential Comprehension

PARIS, SCOTT G.; LINDAUER, BARBARA K.; and Cox, GLORIA L. The Development of Inferential Comprehension. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1977, 48, 1728-1733. Children's abilities to infer consequences from sentences automatically was assessed in 2 cued recall experiments. Retrieval cues derived from implied information were equally effective memory aids as explicit words from the sentences for adults but were significantly inferior cues for 7and 8-year-olds. Young children recalled approximately the same number of sentences with the implicit cues as children in a free recall condition. However the cues provided a significant advantage for adults' recall. In Experiment II, children were required to generate stories regarding sentences. When children constructed implied relationships spontaneously, they were able to use the implied consequences as retrieval cues efficiently. The development of inferential processes and comprehension monitoring appear to underlie developmental changes in memory accessibility for semantic information.