Theories for Infantile Amnesia
Infantile Amnesia Infantile amnesia is the inability to remember events that happened in early childhood before age 3. This is not caused by the time gap, because a person has an autobiographical memory that recalls many personally meaningful one-time events from the past.
There are two theories that explain infantile amnesia, one credits brain development while the other refers to the use of language for storing information. The changes in the brain cause a development of a memory for skills earlier than a fact-memory system, which may not develop until the third year. Thus a person may learn skills without remembering how the skills were acquired.
Berk’s (2012) thematic box on Biology and Environment stated the following: “During the first few years, children rely heavily on nonverbal memory techniques, such as visual images and motor actions. This may prevent long-term retention of early experiences. Only after age 3 do children often represent events verbally, so they use language-based cues to retrieve them, increasing the accessibility of those memories at later ages”(p.221).
Also, according to an article in the Science Daily website, a study of 140 children ages 4 to 13 explores infantile amnesia in children. The study was conducted by researchers at Memorial University of Newfoundland and appears in the journal Child Development. “In the study, children were asked to recall their earliest memories. Younger children showed more change in recalling earliest memories over time; older children showed more consistency in recalling earliest memories over time” (Science Daily May 11, 2011).
Carole Peterson, professor of psychology at Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada, who led the study explains that, “younger children 's earliest memories seemed to change, with memories from younger ages being replaced by memories from older ages, but older children became more consistent in their memories as they grew older." (Peterson C. 2011)
There are two theories that explain infantile amnesia, one credits brain development while the other refers to the use of language for storing information. The changes in the brain cause a development of a memory for skills earlier than a fact-memory system, which may not develop until the third year. Thus a person may learn skills without remembering how the skills were acquired.
Berk’s (2012) thematic box on Biology and Environment stated the following: “During the first few years, children rely heavily on nonverbal memory techniques, such as visual images and motor actions. This may prevent long-term retention of early experiences. Only after age 3 do children often represent events verbally, so they use language-based cues to retrieve them, increasing the accessibility of those memories at later ages”(p.221).
Also, according to an article in the Science Daily website, a study of 140 children ages 4 to 13 explores infantile amnesia in children. The study was conducted by researchers at Memorial University of Newfoundland and appears in the journal Child Development. “In the study, children were asked to recall their earliest memories. Younger children showed more change in recalling earliest memories over time; older children showed more consistency in recalling earliest memories over time” (Science Daily May 11, 2011).
Carole Peterson, professor of psychology at Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada, who led the study explains that, “younger children 's earliest memories seemed to change, with memories from younger ages being replaced by memories from older ages, but older children became more consistent in their memories as they grew older." (Peterson C. 2011)
References: - Berk, L.E. (seventh ed. 2012). Biology and Environment: Infantile Amnesia. Infant, Children, and Adolescents (p.221). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. - Society for Research in Child Development (2011, May 11). Infantile amnesia: Gauging children 's earliest memories. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 29, 2012, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2011/05/110511074803.htm