That’s a good one! Belief in efficacy of mnemonic strategies contributes to age-related increase in associative memory

• We tested developmental differences in belief in the efficacy of mnemonic strategies.
• Belief in strategy efficacy ratings identified deep and shallow factors across age.
• Older age correlated with greater belief in the efficacy of deep strategies.
• Greater belief in deep strategy efficacy explained better recognition memory.
• Children preferred deep strategies less, but this did not explain recognition memory.

The development of associative memory during childhood may be influenced by metacognitive factors. Here, one aspect of metamemory function––belief in strategy efficacy—was tested for a role in the effective use of encoding strategies. A sample of 61 children and adults (8–25 years of age) completed an associative recognition memory test and were assessed on belief in the efficacy of encoding strategies. Independent of age, belief ratings identified two factors: “deep” and “shallow” encoding strategies. Although the strategy factor structure was stable across age, adolescents and adults were more likely to prefer using a deep encoding strategy, whereas children were equally likely to prefer a shallow strategy. Belief ratings of deep encoding strategies increased with age and, critically, accounted for better associative recognition.