On the development of episodic memory: Two basic questions

Abstract

In this focused study, we present and discuss two basic questions related to the early development of episodic memory in children: (1) “What is an episode?” and (2) “How do preverbal children recall a specific episode of a recurring event?” First, a brief introduction to episodic memory is outlined. We argue in favor of employing a definition of episodic memory allowing us to investigate the development of episodic memory by purely behavioral measures. Second, research related to each of the two questions is presented and discussed, at first separately, and subsequently together. We argue and attempt to demonstrate that pursuing answers to both questions is of crucial importance – both conceptually and methodologically – if we are ever to understand the early development of episodic memory.

Keywords:

• children
• episodic memory
• event segmentation
• infants
• recurring events
• scripts.

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Danish National Research Foundation, Grant No. DNRF93. The authors thank the two reviewers for constructive comments to an earlier version of the manuscript.

Notes

1 For another recent approach to a behaviorally based definition of episodic memory, see Russel and Hanna (2012).