title: Memorability in Context: A Heuristic Story.
abstract: We examined children's ability to employ a metacognitive heuristic based on memorability expectations to reduce false recognitions, and explored whether these expectations depend on the context in which the items are presented. Specifically, 4-, 6-, and 9-year-old children were presented with high-, medium-, and low-memorability words, either mixed together (Experiment 1) or separated into two different lists (Experiment 2). Results revealed that only children with a higher level of executive functioning (9-year-olds) used the memorability-based heuristic when all types of items were presented within the same list. However, all children, regardless of age or executive level, implemented the metacognitive rule when high- and low-memorability words were presented in two separate lists. Moreover, the results of Experiment 2 showed that participants processed medium-memorability words more conservatively when they were presented in a low- than in a high-memorability list, suggesting that children's memorability expectations are sensitive to list-context effects.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Psychology: Cognition and Behavior, Neuropsychology Unit, University of Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Geurten
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Psychology: Cognition and Behavior, Neuropsychology Unit, University of Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Meulemans
authors.affiliation: 2 Psychological and Speech Therapy Consultation Center (CPLU), University of Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Sylvie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Willems
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D000066506:Heuristics / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D000067489:Metacognition / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: children; heuristic; memorability; metamemory; recognition memory