Exploring Memory Development in 2- to 6-year-old Children

Abstract

Over the past 40 years, researchers have extensively studied memory development in young children. While previous studies provide a sketch of early memory development, we must learn more before a complete picture is revealed. In Study 1, I examined the ability of 2-, 3-, and 4-year-old children to use a verbal reminder to cue retrieval of a non-verbal memory. I found that the ability to exploit verbal reminders to cue retrieval is present by 2 years of age. In Study 2, I tested the widely-held belief that field trips provide educational benefits that exceed those of a classroom lesson. Although 5- and 6-year-old children had richer autobiographical memories following the field trip, children of neither age learned or remembered more educational information following the field trip; in fact, under some conditions, they learned and remembered less. Finally, in Study 3, I examined the conditions under which 3-year-olds exhibit delay of gratification. Taken together, the studies in this thesis explore some of the remarkable developments that are thought to take place between 2 and 6 years of age.