Distinctiveness effects in children's long-term retention

In 3 experiments, kindergarten and second-grade children's retention was ex amined in the context of 2 distinctiveness manipulations, namely, the von R estorff and bizarre imagery paradigms. Specifically, children learned lists of pictures (Experiments la and Ib) or interactive images (Experiment 2) a nd were asked to recall them 3 weeks later. In Experiments la and Ib, disti nctiveness was manipulated perceptually (changing colors) and conceptually (changing categories or switching to a numeral), whereas in Experiment 2, d istinctiveness concerned the interaction (common or bizarre) between the re ferents. The results showed that (a) older children retained more informati on than younger children, (b) younger but not older children failed to bene fit from numerically distinct information, and of distinctiveness in other domains facilitated children's retention. These results highlight the impor tance of distinctive information in children's retention.