Memory retrieval by 18--30-month-olds: age-related changes in representational flexibility.
Deferred imitation was used to trace changes in memory retrieval by 18-30-month-olds. In all experiments, an adult demonstrated 2 sets of actions using 2 different sets of stimuli. In Experiments 1A and 1B, independent groups of infants were tested immediately or after a 24-hr delay. Each infant was tested with 1 set of stimuli from the original demonstration and 1 set of stimuli that was different. Recall of the target actions when tested with different stimuli increased as a function of age, particularly after a delay. In Experiment 2, infants were provided with a unique verbal label for the stimuli during the demonstration and the test. The verbal label facilitated performance by 24-month-olds tested with different stimuli but had no effect on performance by 18-month-olds. One hallmark of memory development appears to be an age-related increase in the range of effective retrieval cues for a particular memory.
Herbert
J
J
Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Hayne
H
H
D000367:Age Factors; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D011939:Mental Recall; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D013997:Time Factors