title: Beyond initial encoding: measures of the post-encoding status of memory traces predict long-term recall during infancy.
abstract: The first years of life are witness to rapid changes in long-term recall ability. In the current research we contributed to an explanation of the changes by testing the absolute and relative contributions to long-term recall of encoding and post-encoding processes. Using elicited imitation, we sampled the status of 16-, 20-, and 24-month-old infants' memory representations at various time points after experience of events. In Experiment 1, infants were tested immediately, 1 week after encoding, and again after 1 month. The measure of 1-week trace status was a unique predictor of 1-month delayed recall. In Experiment 2, infants were tested immediately, 15 min, 48 h, and 2 weeks after encoding and again 1 month later. The measures of 15-min and 48-h trace strength contributed unique variance in 1-month delayed recall. The findings highlight the need to consider post-encoding processes in explanations of variability in long-term memory during infancy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. tpathman@ucdavis.edu
authors.forename: Thanujeni
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pathman
authors.forename: Patricia J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Bauer
mesh_terms: D001076:Aptitude; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003210:Concept Formation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007100:Imitative Behavior; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D057567:Memory, Long-Term; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D002666:Psychology, Child