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Powers of recall grow as children age

Young children are less consistent in recalling early memories than older children, according to a new study.

Researchers from the Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada asked 140 children aged from four to 13 years old to describe their three earliest memories. Two years later they did a follow-up interview.

The researchers found that 80 per cent of the fourto seven-year-olds provided all new memories in their second interview, whereas a third of the tento 13-year-olds recalled the same memory as their very earliest when asked two years apart, and more than half of all the memories they provided were the same at both interviews. Younger children were more likely to provide different details two years later about the same events.

Carole Peterson, professor of psychology at the university, who led the study, said, 'Younger children's earliest memories seem to change, with memories from younger ages being replaced by memories from older ages. But older children become more consistent in their memories as they grow older.'

The authors suggested a number of explanations for why younger children are less consistent in recalling early memories. One might be in children's language development, as children must have the appropriate language skills to encode events verbally at the time they occur in order for the memories to be accessible. Another idea is that children are less likely to forget memories the more they talk about them with a parent.

The authors concluded that further research is needed with increased time between interviews and more memories assessed.

Further information

The study, 'Infantile amnesia across the years: A two-year follow-up of children's earliest memories', will be published in the July/August issue of the journal Child Development