Differential memory-preserving effects of reminders at 6 months.
Although reactivation and reinstatement reminders differ procedurally, differences in their memory-preserving effects have been described as artifactual. In three experiments, we examined this conclusion. One hundred and twelve 6-month-olds learned an operant task, forgot it, received a reactivation or reinstatement reminder to recover the inactive memory, and were tested after increasing delays until they forgot it again. In Experiments 1a and 1b, a single reactivation reminder extended infants' memory of an operant mobile task for 2 weeks after reminding, but a single reinstatement extended it for 4 weeks, when testing was discontinued. In Experiment 2, a single reinstatement extended 6-month-olds' memory of an operant train task for 19 weeks after reminding, when infants were almost 1 year old. After reactivation, infants remember this task for only 2 weeks. The finding that the memory-preserving effect of reinstatement is greater by an order of magnitude suggests that procedural differences between the two reminders have functional significance.
Hildreth
Karen
K
Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, 152 Frelinghuysen Rd., Piscataway, NJ, 08854-8020, USA. khild@rci.rutgers.edu
Sweeney
Becky
B
Rovee-Collier
Carolyn
C
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D012153:Retention, Psychology