Manipulating the reported age in earliest memories

Wessel, Ineke; Schweig, Theresa; Huntjens, Rafaële J. C.

doi:10.1080/09658211.2017.1396345

Cited by 7 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Yet, this finding was not replicated in their second experimental study ([16], study 2). All in all, exploratory analyses of Wessel et al's ( [16], study 1) data yielded results regarding the use of strategies and memory type that were not corroborated in a second experiment. Perhaps these null-findings were due to substantial differences in the design of the studies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…Age estimation, confidence and strategies. The questions in the next section were direct translations of those in Wessel et al [16]. Age in the reported memory was rated using dropdown menus for years and months separately.…”

Section: Materials and Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Memory characteristics. Different from Wessel et al [16], memory characteristics were assessed adapting questions from the Memory Experiences Questionnaire (MEQ; [31] and items provided by Bruce et al ( [19]; see S3 File). The order of the questions was randomized for each participant.…”

Section: Materials and Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fragmentation. As in Wessel et al ( [16], study 1), the general characteristics of fragment and event memories were described. Participants were asked to rate the extent to which their memory was similar to a snapshot or an event.…”

Section: Materials and Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, an observed ES that is significantly within the range specified by these upper and lower bounds is interpreted as the absence of the effect. For the current comparisons, we calculated the effect size that Wessel et al [16], study 1) could have detected with a power of 0.33 (see [34], [35]). Accordingly, the equivalence bounds were set to Cohen's d = -0.26 and d = 0.26.…”

Section: Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Manipulating the reported age in earliest memories in a Dutch community sample

Klusmann¹,

Wessel²

2019

Preprint

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Childhood amnesia in adults is the relative paucity of autobiographical memories from the first years of life. Wessel, Schweig and Huntjens (2019, study 1) demonstrated that ‘how’ we ask for an earliest memory may bias adults’ estimations of when the earliest childhood memory actually happened. They suggested that snapshot memories (i.e., mental pictures) were less sensitive to an age manipulation than event memories (i.e. narratives). We aimed at replicating and extending these findings using a Dutch community sample stratified for age, gender and educational level. Participants (N = 619) were randomized into one of three experimental conditions. Prior to recalling their earliest memory, participants in the early and late conditions were presented with examples referring to memories from age 1-2 or 5-6, respectively. The example memories in the control group did not contain any age cues. Participants reported the estimated age in their earliest memory and their strategy for arriving at this estimate. They also rated their memory’s phenomenology (e.g. vividness). Independent judges rated memory type (e.g., snapshot memories). Compared to the control group, participants in the early condition estimated the age in their memory to be significantly earlier. The difference between the late and control conditions was too small to be of interest. We did not observe a statistically significant interaction between memory type and condition. Snapshot memories were from a younger age than event memories and showed differences with respect to phenomenology (e.g., emotional intensity). The results of this community study replicate earlier findings that instructions including age cues influence estimates of age in earliest memories. Although snapshot and event memories seem to be qualitatively different, the idea that they respond differently to an age manipulation could not be corroborated.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Section: Materials and Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Materials and Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Materials and Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Manipulating the reported age in earliest memories in a Dutch community sample

Klusmann¹,

Wessel²

2019

Preprint

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Strategies for dating earliest memories

Peterson

Wang

Lillington

et al. 2022

Applied Cognitive Psychology

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Young adults recalled and dated their five earliest memories, and dates compared with independent parental dates. Participants also provided information about how they derived dates through a "thinking aloud" procedure. All participants were also asked if they had experienced various landmark events when young.One group, the Priming cohort, was asked about potential landmark events prior to memory retrieval while the other group, the No Priming cohort, was asked after memory retrieval. The most frequently used dating strategies were seasons, landmark events, school year, special occasions, known dates, and guessing. Of these, only landmarks and known dates improved dating accuracy in both groups.Furthermore, priming landmarks led to more memories with known dates and a tendency to increase landmark use. This study was the first to show how people attempt to date their earliest memories, and suggests that dating accuracy may be able to be improved.

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New perspectives on childhood memory: introduction to the special issue

Wang

Gülgöz

2018

Memory

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This special issue brings together the scholarship that contributes diverse new perspectives on childhood amnesiathe scarcity of memories for very early life events. The topics of the studies reported in the special issue range from memories of infants and young children for recent and distant life events, to mother-child conversations about memories for extended lifetime periods, and to retrospective recollections of early childhood in adolescents and adults. The methodological approaches are diverse and theoretical insights rich. The findings together show that childhood amnesia is a complex and malleable phenomenon and that the waning of childhood amnesia and the development of autobiographical memory are shaped by a variety of interactive social and cognitive factors. This collective body of work will facilitate discussion and deepen our understanding of the dynamics that influence the accessibility, content, accuracy, and phenomenological qualities of memories from early childhood.

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Manipulating the reported age in earliest memories

Cited by 7 publications

References 32 publications

Manipulating the reported age in earliest memories in a Dutch community sample

Manipulating the reported age in earliest memories in a Dutch community sample

Strategies for dating earliest memories

New perspectives on childhood memory: introduction to the special issue

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