Understanding and remembering: children's knowledge about the differential effects of strategy and task variables on comprehension and memorization.

Developmental changes in knowledge about the differences between the mental processes of comprehension and memory were investigated in 3 studies using first graders, third graders, and undergraduates as subjects. 2 types of knowledge were assessed: (a) knowledge about the types of strategies appropriate to achieving the goals of comprehension, memorization, or a combination of the 2; (b) knowledge about how different task variables differentially affect comprehension and memorization tasks. With respect to the former, only the 2 older groups showed some understanding of the differential effectiveness of rehearsal and word familiarity for memory versus comprehension and thus showed some understanding of the comprehension-memory distinction with respect to strategy knowledge. As for the latter, only undergraduates correctly differentiated between the 2 mental processes with respect to the task variables of list length, item familiarity, and the categorical organization of the items.