Work

Longitudinal investigation of source memory reveals different developmental trajectories for item memory and binding.

Year: 2013

Type: article

Abstract: The present study used a cohort-sequential design to examine developmental changes in children's ability to bind items in memory during early and middle childhood. Three cohorts of children (aged 4, 6, or 8 years) were followed longitudinally for 3 years. Each year, children completed a source memory paradigm assessing memory for items and binding. Results suggest linear increases in memory for individual items (facts or sources) between 4 and 10 years of age but that memory for correct fact/source combinations (indicative of binding) showed accelerated rates of change between 5 and 7 years. Taken together, these results suggest differences exist in developmental trajectories between the development of memory processes underlying successful item memory and processes underlying binding. Implications of these findings are discussed in relation to longitudinal research examining autobiographical memory.

Source: Developmental Psychology

DOI: 10.1037/a0033622

Author: Tracy Riggins

Institution: University of Maryland, College Park

Language: English

Topic: Memory Processes and Influences

Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: University of Minnesota, University of Maryland, National Institutes of Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development