Age differences in generalization, memory specificity and their overnight fate in childhood

Abstract

Adaptive memories are formed in the face of a fundamental tension: extracting commonalities across experiences to generate novel inferences (i.e., generalization), while simultaneously forming separate representations of similar events (i.e., memory specificity). Theoretical memory models suggest that specific experiences are initially encoded as hippocampus-dependent episodic memories and slowly become amenable to generalization through consolidation. Post-learning sleep facilitates such consolidation processes. However, generalization can also occur rapidly during wakefulness. Contemporary models propose that rapid generalization relies on the retrieval of specific episodes. In a sample of 141 four- to eight-year-old children, we investigated whether (i) age differentially relates to generalization and memory specificity, (ii) generalization is contingent on different aspects of past experiences, and (iii) the effect of a sleep-filled delay on generalization and memory specificity differs across age. We found age-related differences in generalization and memory specificity, with improvements with age being more pronounced in generalization than in memory specificity. Unlike prior evidence in adults, children’s generalization success was contingent on retrieving specific object conceptual properties and on inter-object semantic proximity, but not on perceptual attributes or surrounding contexts. Further, older children were more likely to retain general and specific aspects of memory after an overnight delay. However, age-related gains differed across memory functions: Compared to younger children, older children showed greater gains in generalized, but not in specific memories. These findings reveal those aspects of past experiences upon which children draw when creating inferences, and suggest that the effects of sleep on generalization and memory specificity interact with age.

Developmental Sequences Constrain Models of the Mind

“…Consolidation through sleep may be an added factor to this relationship. After one night of sleep, older children had greater retention of generalized inferences than specific details of memories compared to younger children (Buchberger, Joechner et al, 2022).…”

Estimating Statistical Power for Structural Equation Models in Developmental Cognitive Science: A Tutorial in R

“…the loadings of the manifest variables. Details on the theoretical bases and the selection of methodological indicators for each model can be found in Buchberger et al, (2022).…”

“…In this study, we implemented a Monte Carlo based simulation approach and provide a step-by-step guide for conducting randomization-based analyses for a-priori sample size estimations for non-nested model comparison. Specifically, we exemplify this approach with a specific research question, focusing on the componential structure of memory processes in early childhood (for theoretical background see Buchberger et al, 2022). Memory developmental research represents an excellent example for this methodological approach, as researchers from different fields have put forth competing ideas on the underlying structure of memory in childhood: While a rich body of empirical work from many decades has focused on the dichotomy between episodic and semantic memory (Tulving, 1972), more recent neurocomputational theories have introduced a process-focused approach to memory development.…”