本研究は,基本的な物語のシェマがどの年齢段階でどの程度できあがっているのか,また認知的枠組形成のための先行オーガナイザー情報が後続する物語の理解・記憶にどのような効果をもたらすのかを検討するために企画された。被験者は平均年齢6才2か月の保育園児42名と9才2か月の小学3年生42名である。刺激材料としては,33文からなり,7つの事象を含んでいる「ぐるんぱのようちえん」という短い物語が用いられた(TABLE1)。被験者は各年齢とも無作為に,順序提示群,ランダム提示群,統制群の3条件にふりわけられた。順序提示群とは,7つの事象を絵にしたものを先行オーガナイザー情報として物語の展開通りに被験者に提示される群である。ランダム群とは7つの絵画情報がランダムに提示される群であり,統制群とは,絵画情報が与えられない群である。 実験は3つの部分から成っている: (a)絵画的先行オーガナイザーによる枠組形成と物語の提示のセッション,(b)理解テストおよび事象の自由再生テストを含む直後テスト,(c)事象の自由再生のみを3目後に行う遅延テスト。(a)においては枠組形成後,"これから象さんの話をします。後でどんな話であったか私に話せるようによくおぼえて下さい」という教示のもとで物語が話された。主な結果は次のとおりである。 (1) 展開部,終末部および因果関係の叙述での6才児の得点は9才児の得点とほぼ同じであったが,9才児は6才児よりも開始部の理解がすぐれていた(FIG. 1)。 (2) 事象の初頭と新近性部位での再生率は中間部位の再生率よりも高いという系列位置の主効果が有意であった。さらに直後再生における初頭と新近性部位における再生率(それぞれ.97と.95)は,遅延再生における再生率(それぞれ.95と.93)と非常に類似していた(FIG. 2)。 (3) 9才児は6才児よりも事象の継続的順序性をよりよく再生した(TABLE4)。 (4) 直後テストにおける順序提示群での順序性把握の得点は,ランダム提示群や統制群よりも優れていたが,遅延テストでの3群間の成績には差異はみられなかった(FIG. 4)。

According to Bartlett's hypothesis, remembering prose is a constructive process, in which meaningful material is stored in memory in schematic form, and recall is achieved by a process of reconstruction. The most recent research on constructive memory has focused on the effect of comprehension processes. However, there was little evidence to demonstrate that some advance organizers reflecting "story structure" or "connections between episodes in story" actually facilitated the comprehension and retention of prose passage or story. In the present study, we attempted to manipulate presentation or nonpresentation of an advance organizer and to assess its importance for an understanding of story retention. The subjects were 42 kindergarten children (mean CA: 6-2) and 42 third-grade children (mean CA: 9-3). The stimulus story was 33 long sentences containing seven episodes. The Ss were randomly assigned to one of three conditions containing two experimental (ordered and at random) and one controlled. In the ordered condition, 7 line-drawings expressing 7 episodes were placed in front of Ss in the order they occupied in the story, and the Ss in the random condition received the same set of stimuli in random order. The experiment consisted of three parts: (a) a frame-formation session in which Ss were given either in order or in random ordor 7 line-drawings as an advance organizer, (b) an immediate test session containing comprehension test and free recalls of episodes, and (c) a delay test (3 days later) employing only free recalls. The story was told following a frame-formation session. The main results were as follows: (1) Although the scores on development, ending and cause for kindergarten children were very similar to those of third-grade children, the latter understood the part of setting more than the former (see, FIG. 1). These were interpreted to suggest that even 6 year-old children were sensitive to the structures of stories and have schemata organizing retrieval in a fashion similar to the elder children. (2) The main effect of serial position was significant, indicating that the mean percentage of correct episodes at primacy and recency positions was higher than that of serial position 2-4. Moreover, the performance at primacy and recency positions (respectively, .97; .95) in immediate recall was very similar to the (respectively, .95; .93) delay recall (see FIG. 2). These were interpreted to show that when prose passage was stored in schematic form and recall was achieved by a process of reconstruction, the initial and end episodes were used as the point of departure. (3) Third-grade children recalled the order of episodes more than kindergarten children (see TABLE4). (4) On analysis of retention of the order, the interaction between Conditions and Immediate-Delay tests was significant at 10% level, indicating that the performance on the ordered condition was superior to both random order and control conditions in immediate test, but the performance on the three conditions in delay test was not different from each other (see FIG. 4). These results were interpreted to show that an advance organizer with logical sequences reflecting "story structure" or "connections between episodes in story" facilitated the comprehension and remembering of ordered relation in sequences.