ABSTRACT
In just the last decade, the study of memory development in young children has changed dramatically, Initial forays into this line of investigation tended to focus on the issue of whether or not preverbal children were capable of long-term memory and, if so, when it began. Important research documented impressive long-term retention in young, preverbal children and infants (e.g., Barr, Dowden, 8c Hayne, 1996; Bauer, 1995; Bauer, Hertsgaard, 8c Dow, 1994; Bauer & Shore, 1987; Greco, Rovee-Collier, Hayne, Griesler, 8c Earley, 1986; Hamond 8c Fivush, 1991; Hudson, 1990b; McDonough 8c Mandler, 1994; MeltzofF, 1995; Meltzoff 8c Moore, 1994; Rovee-Collier, Sullivan, Enright, Lucas, 8c Fagen, 1980), Although differences in methodology, and to some degree differences in criteria for what constitutes episodic memory, have segmented the literature on infant recall (largely based on response-contin - gency paradigms) and studies of toddlers and preschool children (using imitation and verbal recall tasks), in the last decade it has become evident that infants under 1 year were capable of long-term recall for several weeks, that 1-year-olds could remember episodes for several months, and that 2-yearolds can verbally recall unique experiences that took place when they were 13 to 30 months old (see Bauer, Burch, 8c Kleinknecht, 2002, and Rovee-Collier Sc Hayne, 2000 for reviews). Moreover, there is evidence that the temporal parameters of memory processing change dramatically during the first 3 years of life and continue to change throughout adulthood (Rovee-Collier Sc Hayne, 2000),
Thus, research on early memory has shifted from questions of whether and when young children demonstrate long-term memory and have focused on understanding the variables that influence long-term memory in very young children. For example, research has examined how the content and structure of an event affect long-term memory (Bauer, Wenner, Dropik, & Wewerka, 2000); whether infants and toddlers can remember actions they have seen, but not actually performed (Barr Sc Hayne,
1999; Collie & Hayne, 1999); how reexposure to event information can reinstate and extend event memories (the topic of this chapter), and how brain developments during the first 3 years of life contribute to the onset and development of long-term, verbally accessible recall (Bauer, 2002; Bauer, Wiebe, Carver, Waters, & Nelson, 2003).
