Young adults' personal and relationship memories: recollections of self, siblings, and family.

We investigated the phenomenological and narrative characteristics of young adults' self- and other-related memories within the context of significant relationships. We also examined whether participants' gender and/or gender concordance between participants and their siblings was associated with autobiographical memory characteristics. We collected data from 108 college students who had only one sibling. All participants provided narratives in response to three memory prompts (i.e., self-related, sibling-related, and family-related) and rated their memories along dimensions such as significance, emotional valence, clarity etc. The narratives were coded on thematic content, transformativeness, mentions of others, and event type dimensions. Results revealed differences between self-related memories and sibling- and family-related memories across several dimensions. However, sibling-related and family-related memories were mostly similar to each other. No statistically significant gender or gender concordance differences were observed. Further exploratory analysis showed that memory narratives describing extended events were more transformative than single event narratives. The findings enhance our understanding about the self-in-relation to others through relationship memories.

Development of self-derivation through memory integration and relations with world knowledge.

Accumulating world knowledge is a major task of development and education. The productive process of self-derivation through memory integration seemingly is a valid model of the process. To test the model, we examined relations between generation and retention of new factual knowledge via self-derivation through integration and world knowledge as measured by standardised assessments. We also tested whether the productive process of self-derivation predicted world knowledge even when a measure of learning through direct instruction also was considered. Participants were 162 children ages 8-12 years (53% female; 15% Black, 6% Asian, 1% Arab, 66% White, 5% mixed race, 7% unreported; 1% Latinx). Age accounted for a maximum of 4% of variance in self-derivation and retention. In contrast, substantial individual variability related to general knowledge and content knowledge in several domains, explaining 20-40% variance. In each domain for which self-derivation performance was a unique predictor, it explained a nominally greater share of the variance than the measure of learning through direct instruction. The findings imply that individual variability in self-derivation has functional consequences for accumulation of semantic knowledge across the elementary-school years.

Self-derivation through memory integration: a longitudinal examination of performance and relations with academic achievements in elementary classrooms.

Self-derivation through memory integration is the cognitive process of generating new knowledge by integrating individual facts. Across two studies, we longitudinally examined developmental change, individual stability, and relations with academic performance in a diverse agricultural community. We documented children's self-derivation in their classrooms and examined the relation with self-derivation and academic performance a year later. In Study 1, we examined self-derivation (n = 94; Mage= 6.67; initially grades K and 1) using the same paradigm at both time points. We found evidence of developmental change from Time 1 to Time 2. However, self-derivation accounted for a small portion of the variance in self-derivation (reflecting individual stability) and academic performance measured one year later. In Study 2, we examined self-derivation across two different paradigms with children beginning in Grades 2 and 3 (n = 82; Mage= 8.60). Even across paradigms, we found evidence for individual stability. Year 1 self-derivation also predicted Year 2 academic performance. We posit that self-derivation through integration is a domain-general construct related to academic performance.

Factors affecting children's direct learning and productive memory processes in the context of virtual museums.

Informal educational opportunities such as visits to museums, aquariums, and zoos support children's semantic knowledge gain. Most research focuses on outcomes of direct learning, such as factual recall. The extent to which children engage in productive memory processes such as inferential reasoning and self-derivation through memory integration is not yet well understood. We assessed 8- to 9-year-old children's performance on tests of direct (e.g., fact recall) and productive (e.g., inference, integration) learning from virtual museum exhibits. We also examined the influence of children's involvement on learning outcomes, through measuring within-exhibit dyadic conversation and post-exhibit reflection. Children performed successfully on all three tests of learning; fact recall was the most accessible and self-derivation was the least. Both within and post-exhibit involvement predicted overall learning outcomes; within-exhibit conversational phrases predicted self-derivation performance in particular. The current work provides novel insights into mechanisms that support children's informal learning.

Contributions of shared book reading to children's learning of new semantic facts through memory integration.

Young children rapidly learn facts about the world. One mechanism supporting knowledge acquisition is memory integration: derivation of new knowledge by combining separate, yet related facts accumulated over time. There are both developmental changes and individual differences in young children's learning through memory integration. However, there is little research on how everyday social interactions may promote memory integration and contribute to individual differences. Accordingly, we investigated how the everyday social interactions of caregiver-child shared book reading support 5- to 6-year-olds' memory integration (N = 82 parent-child dyads; 47 female children; M age 6.10; 56.5% White non-Latinx, 15% Black, 6% White Latinx, 5.5% Asian, 17% more than one race). Caregivers read a narrative book that included opportunities to integrate facts. Half the dyads were assigned to an embedded questions condition (questions on facts included throughout the book) and half to a no embedded questions condition (statements only). We measured dyads' extratextual talk while reading for the extent to which they integrated the facts (integration talk). Children's learning was tested with both memory integration and fact recall questions. Dyads in the embedded questions condition had more integration talk. The extent to which the dyads integrated while reading predicted children's integration performance, above and beyond condition effects. This effect was specific to memory integration: integration talk nor condition accounted for fact recall. These results suggest that shared book reading can support young children's integration, especially when books engage dyads through embedded questions and dyads integrate facts while reading.

Event characteristics help to explain the distribution of autobiographical memories over the first decade of life.

The shape of the distribution of autobiographical memories over the first decade of life is characterised by a paucity of memories from the early years followed by a gradual increase in the number of surviving memories. Though many events and experiences from this period are forgotten, some are well remembered. To better understand why certain memories survive, we examined characteristics of events recalled by young adolescents (12 - to 14-year-olds), sampled over their first decade of life, and whether they predict consistency in recall. Characteristics were assessed via third-party observer ratings of event narratives. Events with more negative emotional valence, lower frequency of occurrence, and that were culturally shared were more likely to be recalled. The details of events with less positive emotional valence, shorter duration, fewer changes in location, and less predictability were more consistently recalled. The characteristics of reported events were largely similar across the decade, with significant differences in the representation of event characteristics only between earliest memories (1-5 years) and later periods (6-10 years and the previous year). The findings suggest that event characteristics play a role in how consistently events are remembered and how memories are distributed over the first decade of life.

Determinants of elementary-school academic achievement: Component cognitive abilities and memory integration.

Children are on a quest for knowledge. To achieve it, children must integrate separate but related episodes of learning. The theoretical model of memory integration posits that the process is supported by component cognitive abilities. In turn, memory integration predicts accumulation of a knowledge base. We tested this model in two studies (data collected in 2016-2018) with second (8-year-olds; n = 391; 196 female; 36% Black, 27% Hispanic/Latinx, 29% White, and 8% multiracial) and third (9-year-olds; n = 282; 148 female; 36% Black, 31% Hispanic/Latinx, 27% White, and 5% multiracial) graders. The results support the theoretical model and the role of verbal comprehension in learning new information, and also indicate that verbal comprehension alone is not sufficient to build knowledge.

Putting the pieces together: Cognitive correlates of self-derivation of new knowledge in elementary school classrooms.

A central goal of development and formal education is to build a knowledge base. Accumulating knowledge relies, in part, on self-derivation of new semantic knowledge via integration of separate yet related learning episodes. Previous tests of self-derivation evidence both age-related and significant individual variability in self-derivation performance in the laboratory and the classroom due in part to individual differences in verbal comprehension (children and adults) and working memory (adults only). In the only extant investigation of cognitive correlates of children's successful self-derivation in the classroom, 3rd graders' verbal comprehension predicted self-derivation, whereas working memory did not. In the current research, we expanded the battery of cognitive correlates investigated, the age range of participants (8-11 years), and the sample size (N = 330) to examine candidate sources of variability in self-derivation. More specifically, in a diverse sample, we measured children's auditory and spatial working memory, inhibitory control, metacognitive awareness, verbal comprehension, and metacognitive judgments at test for self-derivation. Metacognition was of particular interest in the current research because little is currently known about how children's understanding of their cognition, at the trait or item-specific level, may affect their derivation of new knowledge. Only verbal comprehension and metacognitive knowledge predicted children's self-derivation performance; children's metacognitive judgments at the time of testing for self-derivation were not related to their performance. These findings suggest that having both semantic knowledge and knowledge of one's self as a learner, as well as knowing how to use one's knowledge, support further knowledge base development.

Self-derivation of new knowledge through memory integration varies as a function of prior knowledge.

ABSTRACTThe current research was an investigation of the effects of prior, domain-relevant knowledge on self-derivation of new, integrated knowledge. Adults were presented with novel "stem" facts and tested for self-derivation of new knowledge through integration of the facts in memory. To examine the effects of prior knowledge on memory integration, we tested participants under three within-subject conditions, in which in advance of stem encoding, they were provided with either: (1) no domain relevant information (No Knowledge control), (2) generally relevant information about the domain (General), or (3) generally relevant information about the domain along with a stem fact that was directly necessary for self-derivation (General + Stem). Prior exposure to both General and General + Stem knowledge facilitated memory for the novel, explicitly-taught stem facts. Moreover, for both prior knowledge conditions, the amount of domain-relevant knowledge retained in memory was associated with trial-by-trial self-derivation success. Importantly, the type of prior knowledge modulated memory integration in different ways. Whereas General + Stem knowledge enhanced selective retrieval and integration of the stem facts, General knowledge supported learning of the individual stem facts, but not their integration with one another. Together, the findings indicate how malleable, domain-specific experience shapes encoding, integration, and flexible extension of new, related information.

Developmental differences in reactivation underlying self-derivation of new knowledge through memory integration.

Self-derivation of novel facts through integration of memory content is fundamental to acquiring new knowledge and a means of building a semantic knowledge base. It involves combining memory content acquired across separate episodes of learning to generate new knowledge that was not explicitly taught in either episode. To self-derive, one needs to reactivate earlier learned memory content upon exposure to related content and then integrate the learning episodes. Previous research found developmental differences in the conditions under which integration occurs. Adults spontaneously integrate whereas 7- to 9-year-old children seemingly integrate only upon direct tests that verbally prompt for integration. Yet it is unclear whether children engage in the preliminary process of reactivation prior to the direct tests. To address this gap in the current research, we developed an eye-tracking paradigm and tested whether adults and 7- to 9-year-old children engage in the process of reactivation prior to direct tests. The direct tests verbally prompted for integration of memory content requiring self-derivation through both open-ended and forced-choice formats. Both adults and children engaged in reactivation prior to the direct tests. The extent of their reactivation predicted their performance on the direct tests. However, adults showed stronger evidence of reactivation and performed better than children on the direct tests. This work contributes to understandings of developmental differences in the underlying processes involved in the development of new knowledge.

Prompt-facilitated learning: The development of unprompted memory integration and subsequent self-derivation.

What are the boundaries that limit expansion of semantic knowledge across development? One striking contender is the necessity of a prompt to integrate and self-generate new information. The present research was an investigation of 7-9-year-olds' and 18-22-year-olds' prompted versus unprompted memory integration and subsequent self-derivation of new knowledge. Children and adults (Experiments 1 and 2, respectively) were exposed to sets of novel, true facts that could be integrated to self-derive new knowledge. On some trials they were prompted to integrate and self-derive and on others they were not. Both children and young adults capitalized more effectively on prompted opportunities to self-derive compared with unprompted opportunities, and the mechanism of this difference in performance likely underlies memory integration. Thus, the current work illustrates the importance of the conditions under which memory integration occurs, regardless of age. Results also offer evidence consistent with developmental change in unprompted integration and self-derivation performance, such that children and adults may engage the process of self-derivation differently. This work is particularly important in highlighting the necessity of appropriate scaffolding to foster successful learning opportunities and understanding the conditions under which semantic knowledge is accumulated.

Relating a picture and 1000 words: Self-derivation through integration within and across presentation formats.

To build knowledge, separate yet related learning episodes can be integrated with one another and then used to derive new knowledge. Separate episodes are often experienced through different formats, such as text passages and graphic representations. Accordingly, in the present research, we tested integration of learning episodes provided through different presentation formats with children in the laboratory (Experiment 1; n = 24; M = 8.36 years) and in classrooms (Experiment 2; n = 85; M = 9.34 years and Experiment 3; n = 154; M = 10.67 years). Children in the laboratory were successful in both same-format and different-format conditions. Children in the classroom were also successful in both conditions, but in Exp. 2 showed a cost to integration across two different presentation formats compared to the same-format condition. In Exp. 3, greater support for encoding the graphic information was added and performance no longer showed a cost between conditions.

Self-derivation through memory integration: A model for accumulation of semantic knowledge.

Semantic knowledge accumulates through explicit means and productive processes (e.g., analogy). These means work in concert when information explicitly acquired in separate episodes is integrated, and the integrated representation is used to self-derive new knowledge. We tested whether (a) self-derivation through memory integration extends beyond general information to science content, (b) self-derived information is retained, and (c) details of explicit learning episodes are retained. Testing was in second-grade classrooms (children 7-9 years). Children self-derived new knowledge; performance did not differ for general knowledge (Experiment 1) and science curriculum facts (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, children retained self-derived knowledge over one week. In Experiment 2, children remembered details of the learning episodes that gave rise to self-derived knowledge; performance suggests that memory integration is dependent on explicit prompts. The findings support nomination of self-derivation through memory integration as a model for accumulation of semantic knowledge and inform the processes involved.

Self-derivation through memory integration under low surface similarity conditions: The case of multiple languages.

A primary objective of development is to build a knowledge base. To accumulate knowledge over time and experiences, learners must engage in productive processes, going beyond what is explicitly given to generate new knowledge. Although these processes are important to accumulating knowledge, they are also easily disrupted. Individuals often depend on surface-level similarities, such as visual features, to recognize the relation between learning episodes. When the surface-level similarity is low, performance on tasks that depend on productive processes, such as self-derivation through integration of new knowledge, suffers. The major purpose of the current research was to examine whether presentation of related information in different languages poses a challenge to memory integration and self-derivation due to low levels of surface similarity between episodes of learning through different languages. In Study 1, 62 children (Grade 2; mean age = 8 years 1 month) listened to story passages containing novel facts that could be integrated to self-derive new knowledge. Related passages were presented either through the same language or through two different languages (cross-language condition; Spanish and English). There were no significant differences between presentation conditions. In Study 2, 100 children (Grades 3 and 4; mean age = 9.7 years) heard novel facts in single sentences, again presented in either a same-language or cross-language condition. Whereas third-grade cross-language performance suffered compared with same-language English controls, fourth-grade performance did not. Results suggest that in addition to language proficiency, rich contextual support and experience in a bilingual environment facilitate cross-language integration.

Emotion effects on memory from childhood through adulthood: Consistent enhancement and adult gender differences.

Emotion typically enhances memory. This "canonical" emotional memory enhancement (EME) effect has been extensively studied in adults, but its developmental trajectory is unclear. The handful of developmental studies that have manipulated emotion at encoding and then tested subsequent memory have yielded mixed results. To identify whether development change in EME occurs across middle childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood, we examined EME in 206 8- to 30-year-olds, using the same stimuli, paradigm, and analyses for all participants. At encoding, participants saw negative, neutral, and positive pictures while completing an incidental task. Two weeks later, participants completed a recognition memory test. We calculated negative-neutral and positive-neutral memory difference scores for each participant and then tested whether EME was predicted by age or gender. Negative pictures were remembered better than neutral pictures; the magnitude of this difference diminished in older male participants but not in older female ones. Positive pictures were also remembered better than neutral pictures, but this EME effect was small and did not change significantly with age or by gender. We also examined whether subjective ratings of stimulus emotion changed with age or between genders, and we report small differences. These results suggest that emotion effects on recognition memory are apparent by middle childhood and remain consistent across adolescence and early adulthood for girls and women, whereas emotion elicitation and EME effects diminish slightly with age for boys and men. These findings enrich both the EME literature specifically and what is known about emotion-cognition interactions across middle childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood more generally.

Neural response to emotion related to narrative socialization of emotion in school-age girls.

Emotion is processed on multiple dimensions, both internal and external, and these dimensions interact over time and development. Socialization of emotion via parent-child conversations is well known to shape emotion processes, with greater parental elaboration supporting children's emotion knowledge, understanding, and regulation. However, it is unclear how the effects of socialization may extend to neural processing of emotion, which in turn relates to emotion behaviors. In this research, 28 school-age girls and their parents discussed recent emotional experiences (positive and negative), and event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded as the children viewed emotionally evocative picture stimuli. Parent-child conversations were recorded and coded for parents' use of elaborative style. ERPs indicated a robust emotion response (late positive potential, LPP) that was observed across the scalp. Children of parents who used a greater elaborative style when discussing negative experiences had reduced LPPs at posterior sites. This relation was not observed for discussions of positive experiences despite similar use of elaborative style between event types. The results suggest that parental elaboration, during discussion of negative experience, is associated with reduced neurophysiological emotional reactivity in children. Thus, the impact of socialization of emotion extends beyond emotional behaviors to neural processing of emotion.

Predictors of age-related and individual variability in autobiographical memory in childhood.

Development of autobiographical memory is as a gradual process beginning in early childhood and continuing through late adolescence. Substantial attention has been paid to early childhood when first personal memories are formed; less attention has been focused on the flourishing of memories from the late preschool years onward. We addressed this void with a three-year cohort-sequential study of age-related changes in the length, completeness, and coherence of autobiographical narratives by children 4-10 years. We also examined the unique and combined variance in autobiographical narrative explained by children's own language, maternal narrative style, domain-general cognitive abilities, non-autobiographical story recall, and memory-specific skills. There was substantial growth in autobiographical narrative skill across the 4-10-year period. Non-autobiographical story recall was a strong concurrent and cross-lagged predictor for all autobiographical narrative measures. Memory-specific and domain-general cognitive abilities systematically predicted narrative completeness and coherence but not length. Children's language and maternal narrative style did not contribute additional variance when these predictors were considered. The findings highlight that age-related changes in autobiographical memory are the results of combined contributions of a variety of domain-general and domain-specific predictors.

Long-term autobiographical memory across middle childhood: patterns, predictors, and implications for conceptualizations of childhood amnesia.

We examined recall of events by children 4-11 years to inform patterns of retention of autobiographical memories as well as factors that predict their survival. 101 children participated in a 4-year prospective study. At study inception, children were 4, 6, and 8 years. They were tested annually for three more years for a total of four waves of data collection. At each wave, we obtained narrative reports of recent (all waves) and distant (Waves 2-4) events, resulting in virtually continuous sampling of memories formed by 4- to 11-year-olds and recalled after 1-3-year delays. We also measured children's language, and domain-general and memory-specific cognitive skills. Multi-level modelling revealed age-related increases in the likelihood of survival of memories over the delays. Critically, the rate of increase in retention of individual memories was the same across the cohorts. In addition to age, thematic coherence of original memory reports predicted memory survivability. Other factors were not predictive. The dense sampling and prospective tracking of memories across the 4-11-year age period permitted an especially strong test for continuity versus discontinuity in autobiographical memory across the second half of the first decade of life. The data are strongly indicative of continuity and gradual change.