Updating information in working memory (WM) is a critical executive function responsible both for continuously replacing outdated information with new relevant data and to suppress or inhibit content that is no longer relevant according to task demands. The goal of the present research is twofold: First, we aimed to study updating development in…

This research examined the effects of bimodal audiovisual and unimodal visual stimulation on infants' memory for the visual orientation of a moving toy hammer following a 5-min, 2-week, or 1-month retention interval. According to the intersensory redundancy hypothesis (L. E. Bahrick & R. Lickliter, 2000; L. E. Bahrick, R. Lickliter, & R. Flom,…

Advantageous decision making progressively develops into early adulthood, most specifically in complex and motivationally salient decision situations in which direct feedback on gains and losses is provided (Figner & Weber, 2011). However, the factors that underlie this developmental improvement in decision making are still not well understood.…

Generic noun phrases ("Birds lay eggs") are important for expressing knowledge about abstract kinds. The authors hypothesized that genericity would be part of gist memory, such that young children would appropriately recall whether sentences were presented as generic or specific. In 4 experiments, preschoolers and college students (N = 280) heard…

Two experiments examined the effects of a change in a reinforcing stimulus's color on memory for an operant response in three- to four-month-old infants. (Author/RH)

Investigated deferred imitation ability for six actions in 14-month-old infants. After a week's delay, infants were tested on their ability to imitate the actions.Those who had been exposed to modeling produced significantly higher instances of the target actions. (SKC)

Two studies with 80 5- and 8-year olds found that initial recognition tests elevated children's false-memory responses on delayed tests, and that false-memory creation exceeded true-memory inoculation in 5- and 8-year olds, producing net loss of accuracy over time. (MDM)

Examined the long-term retention of 216 preschoolers, half of whom received a single slide presentation and while the other half received consecutive presentations until they learned the material to criterion. Exposure to misleading information 3 weeks after the presentation encouraged the preschoolers to report misinformation 4 weeks after the…

Building upon a previous study, examined 6-, 8-, and 10-year-old and adult witnesses' memories of an event experienced 2 years earlier. Found that children were less consistent than adults across sessions of yes-no questions, less accurate in responses to open-ended questions, and more likely to fabricate answers to a question about a man's…

Three experiments measured 2.5- and 3.5-year-olds' long-term retention of object-location pairings. The subjects were provided with reinforcing information three weeks after the initial exposure and tested four weeks after initial exposure. It was found that this reinstatement (1) improved children's long-term retention; (2) affected both…

Two studies examined 6- and 9-year-old children's recall about events in which they had participated one to two years earlier. Found that amount of information reported in free recall decreased over the one- or two-year delays. For 6-year olds, there was a small decrease in accuracy of free recall. Reinstating specific cues maintained recall, but…

In one experiment, third graders induced to use organizational strategies demonstrated better recall than did students trained in strategy use. In a second experiment, third graders exposed to categorical materials exhibited better recall than other third graders; and sixth graders exhibited better recall of functionally related than…

Examined the effects of preevent stereotypes and postevent suggestions on the memory of 176 preschoolers whose classrooms were visited by a stranger. Results from open-ended interviews after 10 weeks indicated that control participants provided accurate reports of the visit, while those exposed to stereotypes, suggestions, and stereotypes plus…

Trained 3 month olds to move a 10-object mobile. Changing the mobile to two objects resulted in crying for half the infants. A retention test was given one and seven days later. All infants exhibited retention at one day but only noncriers at seven days. Criers displayed more anger than noncriers in the one-day retention test. (BC)

Fourteen-month-old infants saw an object hidden inside a container and were removed from the disappearance locale for 24 hr. Upon their return, they searched correctly for the hidden object, demonstrating object permanence and long-term memory. Control infants who saw no disappearance did not search. In Experiment 2, infants returned to see the…