ABSTRACT
Learning, the acquisition of information, has been studied using classical and instrumental conditioning procedures. Memory, the retention of learned information, has been studied using episodic procedures such as recognition and recall methods. The general procedure for studying prenatal learning is to expose the fetus to some experience before birth, and then test after birth to see whether prenatal learning had occurred. Episodic memory is most often assessed using verbal reports available in older children and adults. Developmentally disabled individuals learn through classical conditioning and, in some cases, perform at about the same level as nondisabled participants. Gender differences have been shown to occur when there are differences in knowledge or experience, self-handicapping, or gender expectancies or stereotypes about how one should perform. Experiments in Morocco and Mexico show that recall increases with age, but that schooling enhances memory even more so through the development of strategies such as rehearsal.
