A Comparison of Preschoolers' Memory, Knowledge, and Anticipation of Events

Abstract

This study examined the development of the episodic and semantic memory systems, with an emphasis on the emergence of the two aspects of the former: episodic memory (the ability to re-experience a past event) and episodic future thinking (the ability to pre-experience a future event). Three-, 4-, and 5-year olds were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: past, semantic, or future. Children were asked questions about the same eight events, phrased in past, generalized present, or future tense. Half of these events were ones for which parents rated their children as having a high level of control (or input) over how the event unfolds, whereas the other half were rated as “low control.” Responses were scored with respect to their specificity and accuracy. Results revealed age differences in children's accuracy scores across all three conditions. Children's episodic future thinking and episodic memory, but not semantic memory, were less accurate for low-control events compared with high-control events. These results offer a new perspective on the development of the episodic and semantic memory systems and the methods used to assess them.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We are grateful for financial support from a Discovery Grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

We thank Cheryl Walker for assistance with testing participants and the children and the parents who volunteered their participation. We also thank Rechele Brooks and Jessica Sommerville for insightful comments on an earlier version.

Notes

¹Autobiographical memory is argued to be a kind of episodic memory that consists of a collection of personally relevant events that define us as individuals (Bauer, 2007). Although very young children can report single episodes from their lives, linking these episodes into a coherent autobiography is a later development. In this study, we focus on children's memory and anticipation of single episodes (determining whether these eventually become part of any one child's autobiography is only possible through longitudinal study).

Note. Standard deviations are in parentheses.

Note. Standard deviations are in parentheses.

Note. Standard deviations are in parentheses.

Elizabeth Quon is now at the Department of Psychology, Concordia University.