One- to two-year-olds' recall of events: the more expressed, the more impressed

The literature on stylistic differences in mother-child conversations about ongoing and past events can be interpreted to suggest that the opportunity to verbally elaborate on an event facilitates preschoolers' memory. In this research we examined whether similar effects would obtain in children who are just acquiring language and, thus, the opportunity for verbal encoding. Using elicited imitation, 12 groups, formed by a between-subjects crossing of 3 levels of age (13, 16, and 20 months) with 4 levels of delay (1-3, 6, 9, and 12 months), were tested for memory for specific laboratory events; children's event-relevant verbalizations also were recorded. The children remembered the events that they had experienced, regardless of their age at the time of exposure and of the delay interval imposed. Memories were demonstrated both nonverbally and verbally; nonverbal and verbal measures bore a modest relation with one another. Language ability at the time of exposure to the events predicted verbal expression of memory after the delay. Thus, the availability of a verbal mode of elaboration facilitated 1- to 2-year-olds' event memory.