title: Early memories come in small packages: episodic memory in young children and adults.
abstract: In two experiments, 3-year-old children were tested using an operant train procedure based on one originally developed by Carolyn Rovee-Collier. Children's behavioral and verbal recall of the event was assessed after a 24 hr (Experiment 1) and a 1-year delay (Experiment 2). After the 1-year delay, their mothers' verbal recall of the same event was also assessed. After both delays, children exhibited excellent nonverbal memory. Children also exhibited verbal, episodic memory of the same event, but their verbal reports were lean relative to those of their mothers, suggesting that the memories may be more vulnerable to forgetting over the long term. These data have important implications for memory development and childhood amnesia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. karen.tustin@otago.ac.nz.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tustin
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Harlene
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hayne
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D061212:Memory, Episodic; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology*; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology; D014706:Verbal Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: childhood amnesia; children; episodic memory; nonverbal memory; operant tasks