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Updated: May 27, 2026
06:35
Examining Recall Memory in Infancy and Early Childhood Using the Elicited Imitation Paradigm
Published on: April 28, 2016
What do infants remember when they forget? Location and identity in 6-month-olds' memory for objects
Melissa M Kibbe1, Alan M Leslie
1Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA. kibbe@jhu.edu
Psychological Science
|November 19, 2011
Summary
Six-month-old infants remember objects even when they forget their features. This study shows infants can represent an object
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Development
- Infant Perception
- Object Permanence
Background:
- Six-month-old infants can track multiple objects but recall features of only one.
- Prior research suggests infants may forget objects entirely when featural information is lost.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether infants retain a representation of an object even if its specific features are forgotten.
- To differentiate between forgetting an object's identity and forgetting its existence.
Main Methods:
- A looking-time study familiarized 6-month-old infants with a disk and a triangle.
- Objects were hidden sequentially, and one screen was removed to reveal either the expected object, an unexpected object, or an empty stage.
- Bayes factor analysis was used to evaluate infant responses.
Main Results:
- Infants did not show surprise when an object's shape changed.
- Infants exhibited surprise when an object disappeared, indicating awareness of its presence.
- Results suggest a dissociation between object representation and featural memory.
Conclusions:
- Infants can maintain a representation of an object's existence independently of its specific features.
- This finding contributes to understanding the development of object permanence and memory in early infancy.
- Infant memory systems distinguish between object identity and object presence.
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