Task switching hurts memory in adults but not in children

Switching between tasks impairs not only ongoing task performance (lower accuracy, slower responses for switch vs. repeat trials) but also for subsequent memory (poorer memory for stimuli on switch vs. repeat trials). This study examined developmental differences in memory switch costs in children (ages 7-13) and young adults (ages 19-31). Participants (N = 240) categorized trial-unique pictures of animals and objects using alternating size and animacy tasks. A subsequent incidental recognition test assessed memory for pictures from repeat and switch trials after a short filler task and again after one week. Both age groups showed switch costs on task performance. However, memory switch costs emerged only in adults - and only in the immediate test. These findings replicate previous research showing that the memory effect vanishes over time. Children's missing memory switch costs suggest that their encoding processes may differ qualitatively from adults' and are less hurt by task switching.