ABSTRACT
As we have seen repeatedly, memory is not stable and static. Our every experience alters our memories, making some things easier and some things harder to remember, distorting some things, and clarifying others. To further complicate this, people are in a constant state of development. These developmental changes have profound implications for how memory functions. This chapter examines some of the major issues in memory and development, but rather than covering the entire life span, we look at three regions of development and the major changes in memory that occur within them. These are infancy and childhood at one end and old age at the other. By looking at infancy and childhood, we can see how our memory and memory skills became more and more sophisticated and efficient. By looking at the effect of aging on memory, we can get some idea of how our own memories are going to change as we enter into old age, which usually means some decline in our memory abilities. However, as you will see, there are some things that remain the same, or even improve.
