The development of skill at concentration

Abstract

The present paper reports two experiments designed to investigate features of skilled performance at the game of Concentration. In the first experiment, five- seven- and 9-year-olds and students in their twenties and thirties played solo Concentration. All groups performed at the same level except for the five-year-olds, who seemed inclined to adopt an inefficient playing strategy. In the second experiment, this result was replicated, and it was found that blocking the inefficient strategy led to markedly greater improvements for the younger children. It is concluded that performance at Concentration, as assessed in the two experiments, is compatible with an analysis of memory development in terms of metamemory and strategy use rather than in terms of the acquisition of knowledge structures.