Table Of ContentDevelopment of Long-Term Retention
Mark L. Howe Charles 1. Brainerd
Valerie F. Reyna
Editors
Development of
Long-Term Retention
With 27 Illustrations
Springer-Verlag
New York Berlin Heidelberg London Paris
Tokyo Hong Kong Barcelona Budapest
MarkL. Howe Charles J. Brainerd
Department of Psychology Department of Educational Psychology
Memorial University University of Arizona
St. John's, Newfoundland Thcson, AZ 85721
Canada AlB 3X9 USA
Valerie F. Reyna
Department of Educational Psychology
University of Arizona
Thcson, AZ 85721
USA
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Development of long-term retention I edited by Mark L. Howe, Charles
J. Brainerd, and Valerie F. Reyna.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISB~-13:978-1-4612-7702-6 e-ISB~-I3: 978-1-4612-2868-4
001:10.10071978-1-4612-2868-4
I. Memory in children. I. Howe, Mark L. II. Brainerd, Charles
J. III. Reyna, Valerie F., 1955-
[D~LM: I. Retention (Psychology)-in infancy & childhood. WS
105.5.M2 D489]
BF723.M4D48 1992
155.4'13122-dc20 91-5157
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© 1992 Springer-Verlag New York, Inc.
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Preface
For a number of decades now the study of children's memory development,
with few exceptions, has been synonymous with the development of pro
cesses that lead to the initial encoding and immediate retention of informa
tion. Although there is little doubt that the study of such acquisition pro
cesses is central to understanding memory development, the long-term
retention of previously encoded information represents at least as important
a component of children's memory. Indeed, as both students of memory
development and educators, our interest is in the maintenance and utiliza
tion of knowledge over considerable periods of time, not just in the immedi
ate (e.g., classroom) context. Clearly, then, without an understanding of
how recently acquired information is maintained in memory over extended
periods of time, our theories of long-term memory development remain
incomplete at best.
Although children's forgetting and reminiscence was a topic of inquiry
early in this century, it is only recently, due in part to the current controversy
concerning the reliability of children's eyewitness testimony, that the study
of long-term retention has resurfaced in the scientific literature. The purpose
of this volume is to draw together some of the principals involved in this
resurgence to summarize their recent research programs, present new and
previously unpublished findings from their labs, and outline the issues they
believe are important in the study of children's long-term retention. In so
doing, we hope to underscore the importance of examining ontogenetic
changes in long-term retention processes in their own right. We also hope
that this volume acts as a catalyst, encouraging others to get involved in this
often neglected area of study and participate in the formalization of a more
extended theory of memory development in childhood.
The authors of the chapters in this volume grapple with a number of key
issues in long-term retention, including the extent to which changes in what
is remembered are the result of alterations of the memories themselves in
storage as well as alterations in how such memories are retrieved, how mem
ories can be inoculated against forgetting, and how memories that are ap
parently gone can be reinstated. The chapters are organized into three sec-
v
vi Preface
tions. The first section deals with fundamental issues in retention develop
ment, namely forgetting and memory reactivation in infancy (Rovee-Collier
& Shyi, Chapter 1), formal modeling of storage and retrieval contributions
to forgetting and reminiscence in childhood and early adulthood (Howe,
Kelland, Bryant-Brown, & Clark, Chapter 2), and the relationship between
the type of information retained (verbatim or gist) and reasoning (Reyna,
Chapter 3). The second section deals with more pragmatic concerns, namely
children's retention of naturalistic events, including visits to the doctor (Orn
stein, Gordon, & Baker-Ward, Chapter 4), the influence of misinformation
on recollection (Loftus, Hoffman, & Wagenaar, Chapter 5; Zaragoza, Dahl
gren, & Muench, Chapt~r 6), and the role of suggestibility in event retention
(Toglia, Ross, Ceci, & Hembrooke, Chapter 7). In the final section, Howe,
O'Sullivan, and Marche (Chapter 8) provide an integrative overview of the
issues raised in the various chapters, ones that are critical to charting the
developmental course of changes in children's long-term retention.
We are pleased with the contributions of the authors to this volume and
are gratified that the chapters represent a robust blend of theoretical devel
opment, methodological/analytical innovation, and empirical data. Al
though there are at least as many questions raised as there are answered, it is
hoped that the vibrant discussion of issues in this volume will stimulate
further basic and applied research on the development of long-term reten
tion. With interest in the maintenance of children's memories rekindled,
perhaps a more complete theory of the development of children's memory
will be forthcoming.
Acknowledgment. Preparation of this volume was facilitated by a research
grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Cana
da (OGPOO03334) to Mark L. Howe.
MARKL. HOWE
CHARLEsJ.B~RD
VALERIE F. REYNA
Contents
Preface .................................................... v
Contributors ................................................ xi
Part I Fundamental Aspects of Retention
1 A Functional and Cognitive Analysis of Infant
Long-Term Retention ....................................... 3
CAROLYN ROVEE-COLLIER and C.-W. GARY SHYI
Introduction .............................................. 3
Review of the Literature .................................... 5
Training Procedure and Retention Measures ................... 5
Long-Term Retention Paradigms ............................. 8
The Specificity oflnfants' Memories ......................... 11
The Time-Dependent Nature of Memory Retrieval .............. 15
Contextual Constraints on Long-Thrm Retention ............... 23
The Effect of MUltiple Reminders on Long-Term Retention ...... 33
Modification of Infants' Memories ........................... 36
General Discussion ................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
References ................................................ 46
2 Measuring the Development of Children's Amnesia
and Hypermnesia .......................................... 56
MARK L. HOWE, ANDREA KELLAND, LYNN BRYANT-BROWN,
and SANDRA L. CLARK
Definitions ............................................... 57
Empirical and Conceptual Issues ............................. 58
Partitioning Components of Long-Term Retention
Performance ............................................ 62
Experiments 1 and 2 ....................................... 66
Experiment 1: Results and Discussion ......................... 69
vii
viii Contents
Experiment 2: Results and Discussion ......................... 82
General Discussion ........................................ 94
General Implications and Conclusions ........................ 97
References ................................................ 99
3 Reasoning, Remembering, and Their Relationship:
Social, Cognitive, and Developmental Issues ..............••... 103
VALERIE F. REYNA
Short-Term Retention ...................................... 104
Long-Term Retention ....................................... 117
Summary ................................................. 126
References ................................................ 127
Part II Pragmatic Aspects of Retention
4 Children's Memory for Salient Events:
Implications for Testimony ....•.•••........••.••••.......... 135
PETER A. ORNSTEIN, BETTY N. GORDON, and
LYNNE E. BAKER-WARD
Memory in Young Children ................................. 136
Framework for Examining Children's Autobiographical
Memory.. .. ........... ... .... .. .. . . ... . .... . . . . .. .... .. 138
Explorations of Children's Memory for Visits to the Doctor ...... 144
Implications for Interviewing ................................ 152
References ................................................ 153
5 The Misinformation Effect: Transformations in Memory
Induced by Postevent Information ............ . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 159
ELIZABETH F. LoFTUS, HUNTER G. HOFFMAN, and
WILLEM A. WAGENAAR
Performance on the Modified Test.. . . . . .... .... . ....... . ..... 163
Are Memories Ever "Destroyed"? ............................ 165
The Yes/No Test ........................................... 176
Developmental Issues ...................................... 180
References ................................................ 182
6 The Role of Memory Impairment in Children's Suggestibility 184
MARIA S. ZARAGOZA, DONNA DAHLGREN, and JEAN MUENCH
The Misinformation Effect .................................. 185
What Factors Contribute to Misinformation Phenomena? ....... 186
Preschool Children's Susceptibility to Memory Impairment ...... 191
Assessment of Memory Impairment with the
Modified Test Procedure .................................. 192
Contents ix
Assessment of Memory Impairment with Recall Procedures ...... 203
Current Status of the Memory Impairment Claim .............. 205
Misinformation Phenomena, Memory Impairment, and
the Development of Forgetting ............................. 206
Memory Impairment and the Suggestibility of
Children's Memory ...................................... 209
Summary and Conclusions .................................. 213
References ................................................ 213
7 The Suggestibility of Children's Memory:
A Social-Psychological and Cognitive Interpretation ............ 217
MICHAEL P. TOGLIA, DAVID F. Ross, STEPHEN J. CECI, and
HELENE HEMBROOKE
Setting the Stage: A Brief Note on Adult Suggestibility .......... 217
Current Trends in Children's Suggestibility Research ............ 219
Social Influences on Children's Suggestibility .................. 222
Study 1 .................................................. 223
Study2 .................................................. 224
Discussion of Studies 1 and 2 ................................ 226
Cognitive Influences on Children's Suggestibility ............... 229
Conclusion ............................................... 236
References ................................................ 237
Part III Current Issues and Future Directions
8 Toward a Theory of the Development of Long-Term Retention 245
MARK L. HOWE, JULIA T. O'SULLIVAN, and TAMMY A. MARcHE
Age Trends in Forgetting and Reminiscence .................... 247
Contributions of Storage and Retrieval Factors to
Long-Term Retention Development ......................... 248
Reliability of Children's Long-Term Retention .................. 250
An Agenda for Research on Children's Long-Term Retention ..... 251
References ................................................ 253
Author Index 257
Subject Index 265
Contributors
LYNNE E. BAKER-WARD, PHD
Department of Psychology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
27695-7801, USA
LYNN BRYANT-BROWN
Department of Psychology, Memorial University, St. John's, Newfound
land, AlB 3X9, Canada
STEPHEN J. CEel, PHD
Human Development and Family Studies, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
14853, USA
SANDRA L. CLARK
Department of Psychology, Memorial University, St. John's, Newfound
land, AlB 3X9, Canada
DONNA DAHLGREN
Department of Psychology, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA
BETTY N. GORDON, PHD
Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
27599-3270, USA
HELENE HEMBROOKE
Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Binghamton,
Binghamton, NY 13901, USA
HUNTER G. HOFFMAN
ot
Department Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195,
USA
xi
xii Contributors
MARK L. HOWE, PHD
Department of Psychology, Memorial University, St. John's, Newfound
land, AlB 3X9, Canada
ANDREA KELLAND
Faculty of Education, Memorial University, St. John's, Newfoundland,
AlB 3X8, Canada
ELIZABETH F. LoFTUS, PHD
Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195,
USA
TAMMY A. MARcHE
Department of Psychology, Memorial University, St. John's, Newfound
land, AlB 3X9, Canada
JEAN MUENCH
Department of Psychology, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA
PETER A. ORNSTEIN, PHD
Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
27599-3270, USA
JULIA T. O'SULLIVAN, PHD
Faculty of Education, Memorial University, St. John's, Newfoundland,
AlB 3X8, Canada
VALERIE F. REYNA, PHD
Department of Educational Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
85721, USA
CAROLYN ROVEE-COLLIER, PHD
Department of Psychology, Busch Campus, Rutgers University, New
Brunswick, NJ 08903, USA
DAVID F. Ross, PHD
Department of Psychology, Boise State University, Boise, ID 83715, USA
C.-W. GARY SHY!
Department of Psychology, Busch Campus, Rutgers University, New
Brunswick, NJ 08903, USA
MICHAEL P. TOGLIA, PHD
Department of Psychology, State University of New York, College at Cort
land, Cortland, NY 13045, USA
