ABSTRACT
The link between episodic foresight and episodic memory, known as Mental Time Travel (MTT), has captured scientific imagination in the last decade, with Science listing it as one of the top ten theoretical breakthroughs of 2007. Establishing the timing of MTT could also confer substantial benefits for advancing early childhood education. Surprisingly, until very recently, there has been limited investigation into how MTT develops along childhood time. Moreover, nothing is known about the development of MTT in children outside Western, industrialised cultures. Using a behavioural task administered to Australian children, this study aims to fill this significant gap and provide the data on MTT in young children outside Western countries. We investigated the specific period when MTT first emerged in children from urban areas (Jakarta) and rural areas (Yogyakarta and Riau). In each sample group, we compared the performance of 3- 4- and 5-year-old children. Our analyses indicate that, like Australian children, MTT emerged at the age of four in Indonesian children.
