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Effects of postevent information on infants' memory for a central target
K Boller1, M Grabelle, C Rovee-Collier
1Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08903, USA.
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
|June 1, 1995
Summary
Six-month-old infants’ memory for a learned target is robust against new information shortly after learning. However, infants may misattribute the source of this new information.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Infant Memory
Background:
- Infant memory development is crucial for learning and adaptation.
- Understanding how postevent information influences early memory is key to cognitive development research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of postevent information on 6-month-old infants' memory for a learned target.
- To examine infants' susceptibility to source misattribution following exposure to novel information.
Main Methods:
- Three experiments involving 78 infants aged 6 months.
- Infants learned to operate a crib mobile; then, they were exposed to novel mobiles (postevent information).
- Recognition memory tests were conducted to assess memory for original, exposure, and novel targets.
Main Results:
- Infants' memory for the original mobile remained intact.
- Infants showed evidence of source misattribution, treating both the novel exposure and completely novel mobiles as if originally present.
- Reactivation paradigms indicated long-lasting effects of postevent information, potentially due to trace competition.
Conclusions:
- Six-month-olds' memory is resistant to impairment by immediate postevent information.
- Infants are highly susceptible to source misattribution, a cognitively efficient process.
- Early memory is robust yet vulnerable to the influence of subsequent information.