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12 - Infant Memory

from Part III - Cognitive Development

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 September 2020

By
Harlene Hayne  and
Jane S. Herbert
Edited by
Jeffrey J. Lockman  and
Catherine S. Tamis-LeMonda
Jeffrey J. Lockman
Affiliation:
Tulane University, Louisiana
Catherine S. Tamis-LeMonda
Affiliation:
New York University
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Summary

Researchers and parents alike have long assumed that experiences that occur during infancy are fundamental to both behavioral and cognitive development. Paradoxically, not only do adults typically fail to recall events that occurred prior to the age of 3, but until the middle part of the twentieth century, there was limited evidence of long-term retention during the infancy period itself. By way of example, although acquiring our first words or taking our first steps was undoubtedly monumental at the time it occurred, we have no conscious recollection of achieving these milestones. In contrast, our memories of other important achievements that took place slightly later in development, like our first day of school or the first time we rode a bike without training wheels, often survive the test of time and eventually form part of our autobiography.

Keywords

Infant memoryvisual recognition memorydeferred imitationmemory reactivationmemory and languagememory and brain developmentindividual differences in memoryculture and memory
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Infant Development
Brain, Behavior, and Cultural Context
 , pp. 341 - 362
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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