Determinants of memory development in childhood and adolescence

Int J Psychol. 2019 Jun;54(3):307-315. doi: 10.1002/ijop.12503. Epub 2018 Jun 11.

Abstract

Research on the development of memory has a long history and constitutes one of the most active research areas in the field of cognitive development. In this article, we first describe major historical developments in the literature on children's memory, focusing on systematic research that began in the late 1960s. We then examine new developments in the field, describing four important lines of inquiry: (a) the development of implicit memory, (b) short- and long-term memory development in infancy, (c) longitudinal research on memory strategies and metamemory, and (d) developmental cognitive neuroscience of memory. Finally, promising lines of future research on memory development are briefly discussed.

Keywords: History; Implicit and explicit memory; Memory and the brain; Memory development; Memory strategies; Metamemory.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Male
  • Memory / physiology*