Developmental changes in event memory.
Do developmental differences exist in children's organization of event memories? We explored this question by examining children's recall of standard features of a repeated event versus features that deviated from that event. 4- and 7-year-old children experienced an initially unfamiliar laboratory event (standard event) 1 or 3 times. Following the last visit, deviations from the standard event were introduced (deviation event). Children's recall was assessed 1 week later under free recall and contextual recall conditions. Younger children had more difficulty than older children distinguishing between the standard and deviation visits. That is, 4-year-olds were more confused regarding which event features occurred in the different event visits. 7-year-olds, in contrast, did a better job of correctly remembering the features of the standard and deviation visits. Implications for developmental changes in the organization of general and specific event memory are discussed.
Farrar
M J
MJ
Psychology Department, University of Florida, Gainesville 32611.
Goodman
G S
GS
D001288:Attention; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D012153:Retention, Psychology; D012931:Social Environment