title: Predicting which childhood memories persist: contributions of memory characteristics.
abstract: This investigation identified memory-level predictors of the survivability of 4- to 13-year-old children's earliest recollections over a 2-year period. Data previously reported by Peterson, Warren, and Short (2011) were coded for inclusion of emotion terms and thematic, chronological, and contextual narrative coherence. In addition, the uniqueness and content of the reported events were classified, and the presence or absence of event reminders was recorded. The use of logistic multilevel modeling indicated that emotion and each dimension of coherence added to the prediction of a memory's survivability over and above age-related variance. In contrast, event uniqueness, content category, reminders, and word count were not associated with retention. The findings help explain why particular early memories endure over time.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland.
authors.forename: Carole
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Peterson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Meredith College.
authors.forename: Gwynn
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, North Carolina State University.
authors.forename: Lynne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Baker-Ward
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Flynn
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology*; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D061212:Memory, Episodic; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012649:Self Concept; D013997:Time Factors