Long-term autobiographical memory across middle childhood: Patterns, predictors, and implications for conceptualizations of childhood amnesia

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Patricia J. Bauer, Emory University; Marina Larkina, Emory University; Evren Güler, Augsburg University; Melissa Burch, Hampshire College
• Language: English
• Date: 2019-07-22
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: Rights managed by Taylor & Francis
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2019.1615511
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Memory
• Volume: 27
• Issue: 9
• Start Page: 1175
• End Page: 1193
• Grant/Funding Agency: Emory College of Arts and Sciences
• Grant/Funding Information: Support for this research was provided by HD28425 and HD42486 to Patricia J. Bauer, and by Emory College of Arts and Sciences.
• Keywords: childhood amnesia; prospective study; development; autobiographical memory; longitudinal study; narrative coherence
• Subject - Topics: Memory; Developmental psychology; Cognition

Abstract

We examined recall of events by children 4 to 11 years to inform patterns of retention of autobiographical memories as well as factors that predict their survival. 101 children participated in a 4-year prospective study. At study inception, children were 4, 6, and 8 years. They were tested annually for three more years for a total of four waves of data collection. At each wave, we obtained narrative reports of recent (all waves) and distant (Waves 2–4) events, resulting in virtually continuous sampling of memories formed by 4- to 11-year-olds and recalled after 1–3-year delays. We also measured children’s language, and domain-general and memory-specific cognitive skills. Multi-level modeling revealed age-related increases in the likelihood of survival of memories over the delays. Critically, the rate of increase in retention of individual memories was the same across the cohorts. In addition to age, thematic coherence of original memory reports predicted memory survivability. Other factors were not predictive. The dense sampling and prospective tracking of memories across the 4–11-year age period permitted an especially strong test for continuity versus discontinuity in autobiographical memory across the second half of the first decade of life. The data are strongly indicative of continuity and gradual change.