Infant recall memory and communication predicts later cognitive development.
This longitudinal study investigates the relation between recall memory and communication in infancy and later cognitive development. Twenty-six typically developing Swedish children were tested during infancy for deferred imitation (memory), joint attention (JA), and requesting (nonverbal communication); they also were tested during childhood for language and cognitive competence. Results showed that infants with low performance on both deferred imitation at 9 months and joint attention at 14 months obtained a significantly lower score on a test of cognitive abilities at 4 years of age. This long-term prediction from preverbal infancy to childhood cognition is of interest both to developmental theory and to practice.
Strid
Karin
K
Department of Psychology, Göteborg University, Box 500, SE-405 30 Göteborg, Sweden. Karin.Strid@psy.gu.se <Karin.Strid@psy.gu.se>
Tjus
Tomas
T
Smith
Lars
L
Meltzoff
Andrew N
AN
Heimann
Mikael
M
D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007100:Imitative Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D007223:Infant; D007804:Language Development; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests