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The Development of The Development of Infant Memory Infant Memory PSY 415 PSY 415 Dr. Schuetze Dr. Schuetze

The Development of Infant Memory PSY 415 Dr. Schuetze

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Page 1: The Development of Infant Memory PSY 415 Dr. Schuetze

The Development of The Development of Infant MemoryInfant Memory

PSY 415PSY 415

Dr. SchuetzeDr. Schuetze

Page 2: The Development of Infant Memory PSY 415 Dr. Schuetze

Food for thoughtFood for thought

Can infants form memories?Can infants form memories? What do infant memories look like?What do infant memories look like? If infants can form memories, why If infants can form memories, why

don’t adults remember things that don’t adults remember things that happened to them when they were happened to them when they were infants?infants?

Page 3: The Development of Infant Memory PSY 415 Dr. Schuetze

Evidence for Early MemoriesEvidence for Early Memories

Preferences for visual novelty: Preferences for visual novelty: looking time (1-4 days of age).looking time (1-4 days of age).

Preferences for mother’s voice: Preferences for mother’s voice: operant sucking (3 days of age).operant sucking (3 days of age).

Preferences for mother’s smell: head Preferences for mother’s smell: head turning (6 days of age).turning (6 days of age).

Classical conditioning: eyeblink (10-Classical conditioning: eyeblink (10-30 days of age).30 days of age).

Page 4: The Development of Infant Memory PSY 415 Dr. Schuetze

Later Infant LearningLater Infant Learning

Conjugate Conjugate

reinforcement paradigmreinforcement paradigm

Page 5: The Development of Infant Memory PSY 415 Dr. Schuetze

MemoryMemory Explicit vs. implicit memoryExplicit vs. implicit memory

– Explicit memoryExplicit memory Able to talk about/describe what you Able to talk about/describe what you

rememberremember Characteristics of explicit memoryCharacteristics of explicit memory

– FastFast– FlexibleFlexible– FallibleFallible

– Implicit MemoryImplicit Memory Not explicitNot explicit

Page 6: The Development of Infant Memory PSY 415 Dr. Schuetze

How do you study explicit How do you study explicit memory in nonverbal infants?memory in nonverbal infants?

Imitation tasksImitation tasks Infants can remember some aspects of Infants can remember some aspects of

events as early as 6 months of ageevents as early as 6 months of age Infants remember events for long periods of Infants remember events for long periods of

time only at the end of the first year of lifetime only at the end of the first year of life– 9 month olds remember for 1 month9 month olds remember for 1 month– 10 month-olds may remember for up to 6 months10 month-olds may remember for up to 6 months

Changes in this ability are related to Changes in this ability are related to changes in brain developmentchanges in brain development

Page 7: The Development of Infant Memory PSY 415 Dr. Schuetze
Page 8: The Development of Infant Memory PSY 415 Dr. Schuetze
Page 9: The Development of Infant Memory PSY 415 Dr. Schuetze
Page 10: The Development of Infant Memory PSY 415 Dr. Schuetze

Infants exhibit high individual variability onthe deferred imitations tasks:

About 50% of nine-month-olds recall About 50% of nine-month-olds recall events after 1 month (with 3 or more events after 1 month (with 3 or more exposures)exposures)

ERPs show that the same infants ERPs show that the same infants recognize pictures of the props used recognize pictures of the props used to enact these eventsto enact these events

Robust ordered recall by 20 months of age in 78% to 100% of infants after 1-month delay

Page 11: The Development of Infant Memory PSY 415 Dr. Schuetze

Later Infant Learning Later Infant Learning continuedcontinued

Deferred imitation paradigmDeferred imitation paradigm

Page 12: The Development of Infant Memory PSY 415 Dr. Schuetze

Searching tasksSearching tasks

AB error AB error

A B

Page 13: The Development of Infant Memory PSY 415 Dr. Schuetze

Searching tasksSearching tasks

AB error AB error

A B

Page 14: The Development of Infant Memory PSY 415 Dr. Schuetze

Searching tasksSearching tasks

AB error AB error

A B

Page 15: The Development of Infant Memory PSY 415 Dr. Schuetze

A

Searching tasksSearching tasks

AB error AB error

B

Page 16: The Development of Infant Memory PSY 415 Dr. Schuetze

What does the AB task What does the AB task involve?involve?

Memory for location – originally thought to Memory for location – originally thought to be a memory taskbe a memory task

Systematic changes in the length of delay Systematic changes in the length of delay required to get the AB error.required to get the AB error.

Implicates areas other than memory areasImplicates areas other than memory areas– InhibitionInhibition

Experience has an effectExperience has an effect– Infants who walk are less likely to make the AB Infants who walk are less likely to make the AB

errorerror– Healthy premature infants outperform term Healthy premature infants outperform term

infants of the same conceptual ageinfants of the same conceptual age

Page 17: The Development of Infant Memory PSY 415 Dr. Schuetze

Infantile AmnesiaInfantile Amnesia

““What I have in mind is the peculiar What I have in mind is the peculiar amnesia which, in the case of most amnesia which, in the case of most people, though by no means all, people, though by no means all, hides the earliest beginnings of their hides the earliest beginnings of their childhood up to their sixth or eighth childhood up to their sixth or eighth year.” (Freud).year.” (Freud).

General inability of people to General inability of people to remember specific events from the remember specific events from the early years of their lives.early years of their lives.

Page 18: The Development of Infant Memory PSY 415 Dr. Schuetze

Adults’ first recollections: 3 ½ years of age

Passage of time & inability to form durable memory traces seem can’t account for IA

Page 19: The Development of Infant Memory PSY 415 Dr. Schuetze

Infantile AmnesiaInfantile Amnesia

Plausible Explanations:– Maturation of the brain structures

required for explicit memory (i.e., prefrontal cortex)

– Social influences: once children are capable of producing simple sentence (around 3 years of age) they are often asked to verbalize their experiences

– Encoding – Retrieval mismatches

Page 20: The Development of Infant Memory PSY 415 Dr. Schuetze

Theories of Infantile Theories of Infantile AmnesiaAmnesia

Repression (Freud)Repression (Freud) Neurological immaturityNeurological immaturity Lack of memory abilitiesLack of memory abilities

– Deferred imitationDeferred imitation– Mobile conjugate reinforcement Mobile conjugate reinforcement

paradigmparadigm

Page 21: The Development of Infant Memory PSY 415 Dr. Schuetze

Theories of Infantile Amnesia Theories of Infantile Amnesia continuedcontinued

Lack of ability to tell stories (Pillemer Lack of ability to tell stories (Pillemer & White, 1989)& White, 1989)– Memory is 2 functionally independent Memory is 2 functionally independent

systemssystems Nonverbal, image-based systemNonverbal, image-based system Socially accessible systemSocially accessible system

Lack of sense of self (Howe & Lack of sense of self (Howe & Courage, 1993)Courage, 1993)

Lack of a theory of mindLack of a theory of mind