RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MEMORY AND METAMEMORY PERFORMANCE - A COMPARISONOF SPECIFIC AND GENERAL STRATEGY KNOWLEDGE

This study examines (a) age and skill-level differences in metamemory and memory performance; (b) differences in memory and metamemory as a function of type of task and instructional support; (c) whether task-s pecific metamemory predicts performance better than general metamemory ; and (d) whether previous metamemory findings generalize to a variety of memory tasks. Sixty-two average and 66 low-achieving children part icipated in 3 sessions. General metamemory was assessed for hypothetic al performance, with task-specific metamemory assessed for actual perf ormance. Memory performance was assessed across a variety of tasks. Me mory improved with age and skill level. Age and skill-level difference s were not consistent across metamemory tasks. Strategic metamemory re vealed age and skill-level differences, whereas taxonomic metamemory r evealed age differences in the average group only. Educational and the oretical relevance of the results are discussed.