The development of the use of long-term knowledge to assist short-term recall

The influence of item familiarity upon memory span was examined in adults a nd children aged 5, 7, and 10 years by comparing the recall of words and no nwords. Using a probed recall task, both item recall and position recall we re tested. The effect of familiarity upon item recall was found to develop with age, from no effects in the 5-year-olds to significant effects in the older children and adults. By contrast, no effect of familiarity was found at any age when recall of position was required. Dissociations between word length effects and familiarity effects supported the conclusion that the f amiliarity effect does not result from rehearsal. Several explanations for the source of the familiarity effect were examined, and the familiarity eff ect was attributed to a strategic redintegration or reconstruction process, which is necessary for item recall but not for position recall.