Chapter 16 Flashcards
What are some of the methods used to assess memory in infants?
The looking method, nonnutritive sucking, conjugate reinforcement, and elicited imitation.
What memory structure continues to develop throughout childhood?
The hippocampus.
Which memory systems are well developed in infancy?
Sensory registers, nondeclarative memory, and some episodic and semantic memory abilities.
What changes in memory occur during childhood?
Increase in working memory capacity, faster processing, cognitive control, metamemory skills, and improvements in episodic and semantic memory.
What is infantile amnesia?
The inability to remember early life events, which fades as the ability to consolidate declarative memories improves.
What factors contribute to the emergence from infantile amnesia?
Improvements in consolidating memories in the cortex, growth of semantic memories, language development, and the emergence of a self-concept.
What role does autobiographical memory play in childhood development?
It helps organize and give meaning to life experiences, becoming more structured and reliable over time.
What is childhood amnesia?
A lack of memory for early childhood events, related to but distinct from infantile amnesia.
What is metamemory and its role in childhood memory development?
Metamemory is the awareness and understanding of one’s own memory processes, which improves cognitive control and information manipulation during childhood.
How do autobiographical memories change during adolescence?
They become more structured, organized, and reliable as a child develops a clearer sense of self.
What is the “looking method” for testing infant memory?
A method that assesses infants’ memory by observing their visual attention to novel stimuli.
What is “nonnutritive sucking” and how is it used to assess memory?
A method where infants’ sucking behavior is measured to assess memory, as they tend to suck differently when exposed to familiar versus unfamiliar stimuli.
What is “conjugate reinforcement”?
A method for testing infant memory where an infant’s behavior is reinforced with a rewarding stimulus to assess memory retention.
What is “elicited imitation” in infant memory testing?
A method where infants are encouraged to imitate actions they have seen previously, assessing their memory recall.
What is the “neurological account” of memory development?
A view that memory development is strongly influenced by the maturation of brain structures, like the hippocampus.
What is the “multicomponent development theory”?
A theory that suggests memory development is influenced by multiple interacting factors including neurological, cognitive, and social elements.
What is “language development’s” role in memory?
As language abilities grow, children can better structure, tag, and retrieve memories, facilitating the development of autobiographical memory.
What is the “psychodynamic view” of infantile amnesia?
A theory that suggests infantile amnesia is caused by the repression of early childhood memories due to emotional development.
What is the “schema organization view” of memory development?
A view that memory improves as children develop structured knowledge frameworks (schemas) for organizing and remembering information.
What is the “emergent self view” in memory development?
The idea that the development of a self-concept is crucial for the organization of autobiographical memory.
What are some major theoretical accounts for why infantile amnesia occurs?
Neurological immaturity, lack of language for encoding memories, and the absence of a coherent self-concept.
