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Updated: Jul 22, 2026
06:35
Examining Recall Memory in Infancy and Early Childhood Using the Elicited Imitation Paradigm
Published on: April 28, 2016
Young children's understanding of "remember" and "forget"
1Department of Psychology, Stanford University, CA 94305-2099.
Child Development
|October 1, 1994
Summary
Young children
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Development
- Developmental Psychology
- Theory of Mind
Background:
- Understanding memory verbs like 'remember' and 'forgot' is crucial for developing a theory of mind.
- Prior research suggests young children's grasp of these verbs may be limited, particularly concerning the prerequisite of prior knowledge.
- Distinguishing between 'remember' and 'forgot' requires understanding that knowledge must have existed at a previous time.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate young children's (3- and 4-year-olds) comprehension of the prior knowledge component inherent in the verbs 'remember' and 'forgot'.
- To determine the developmental trajectory of understanding that remembering and forgetting imply a past state of knowledge.
- To explore how salience of prior knowledge affects children's understanding of these memory verbs.
Main Methods:
- Three studies were conducted involving 3- and 4-year-old children.
- Participants were presented with scenarios involving characters and their knowledge states, assessing their understanding of 'remember' and 'forgot'.
- Study 3 manipulated the salience of the forgotten or remembered item to gauge its impact on comprehension.
Main Results:
- Four-year-olds, but not 3-year-olds, demonstrated understanding that forgetting implies prior knowledge.
- Both age groups understood that remembering implies prior knowledge, though Study 2 confirmed this was not merely an association.
- Performance for 4-year-olds approached ceiling levels when prior knowledge was made more salient, while 3-year-olds' performance remained at chance.
Conclusions:
- The ability to understand the prior knowledge component of 'forgot' emerges around age 4.
- This developmental milestone reflects a growing understanding of mental states and the passage of time in relation to knowledge.
- Findings contribute to our understanding of the nuanced development of children's theory of mind and their grasp of complex cognitive concepts.
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