Constructive processes in skilled and less skilled comprehenders' memory for sentences

Abstract

An experiment was carried out to investigate 7-8 yr old children''s memory for aurally presented sentences. A recognition-memory task was used to probe constructive memory processes in 2 groups differentiated by their ability at comprehending printed text. The recognition errors of both groups indicated that they constructed meanings implied by the original input sentences, while demonstrating poor memory for the syntactic form of the sentences. The tendency to construct meanings implied by the original input sentences was greater in children who scored higher on tests of reading comprehension of text. Constructive memory processes are related to comprehension ability in young readers.