Drawing as an encoding strategy in young children

Abstract

Objectives: Drawing is an effective mnemonic strategy for adults; research investigating the impact on children's memory is limited. In the current study the effect of drawing and verbal rehearsal on primary school aged children's memory recall was investigated. It was hypothesised that children in the drawing group would recall significantly more than children in the verbal rehearsal group. Design: A 2 x 2 between subjects design was utilised. The independent variables were: mnemonic strategy and age. The dependent variable was recall score. Methods: Children aged 5 to 8 years old were recruited via volunteer sampling (N=28) from one primary school. They were randomly allocated to a draw or verbal rehearsal group. Six target objects were presented sequentially, after each object presentation there was a 60 second rehearsal phase (drawing or verbal). Following a filler task children were asked to verbally recall the target objects. Results: Children in the draw group recalled significantly more objects than children in the verbal rehearsal group. Age did not affect recall scores. Conclusions: Drawing appears to be an effective mnemonic strategy for children. Evidence for picture superiority and depth of processing are discussed alongside the application of drawing to educational activities