Search

Memory decision‐making in 26‐ to 32‐month‐olds was investigated using visual‐paired comparison paradigms, requiring toddlers to select familiar stimuli (Active condition) or view familiar and novel stimuli (Passive condition). In Experiment 1 (N = 108, 54.6% female, 62% White; replication N = 98), toddlers with higher accuracy in the Active condition showed reduced novelty preference in that condition, but not in the Passive condition (d = −.11). In Experiment 2 (N = 78; 52.6% female; 70.5% White), a brief 5% increase in target size boosted gaze transitions across conditions (d =.50) and accuracy in the Active condition (d =.53). Overall, evidence suggests that better attentional distribution can support decision‐making. Research was conducted between 2014 and 2020 in Northern California. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relational memory processes are responsible for forming representations that bind together the co‐occurring elements of an experience. These processes provide a foundation of episodic memory, the capacity to remember specific events about one's past. In the present research, we used a visual comparison paradigm to determine whether toddlers can form memories for the relation between co‐occurring items. In Experiment 1, 66 2‐year‐olds viewed pairs of cartoon faces (AB; CD) and did not show a significant novelty preference for the violated associations (i.e., did not look longer at AD rearranged pair than old AB pair when exposed to AD‐AB). However, toddlers looked longest at the individual face (i.e., D) violating a studied pair, which appeared to be supported by visual preference for centrally located stimuli. In Experiment 2, 46 2‐year‐olds participated in a similar procedure, but faces violating the pair during test were located to the periphery (e.g., AB‐AC). Under these conditions, toddlers looked longer at recombined pair AC. Overall, our results show that toddlers show some ability to make item‐item associations but may need to overcome preferential looking biases to demonstrate this capacity. Furthermore, looking behaviors beyond overall novelty preference may be informative even when overall novelty preference is not found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metamemory monitoring, or the ability to introspect on the accuracy of one's memories, improves considerably during childhood, but the underlying neural changes and implications for intellectual development are largely unknown. The present study examined whether cortical changes in key brain areas hypothesized to support metacognition contribute to the development of metamemory monitoring from late childhood into early adolescence. Metamemory monitoring was assessed among 7- to 12-y-old children (n = 145) and adults (n = 31). Children returned for up to two additional assessments at 8 to 14 y of age (n = 120) and at 9 to 15 y of age (n = 107) (n = 347 longitudinal scans). Results showed that metamemory monitoring continues to improve from childhood into adolescence. More pronounced cortical thinning in the anterior insula and a greater increase in the thickness of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex over the three assessment points predicted these improvements. Thus, performance benefits are linked to the unique patterns of regional cortical change during development. Metamemory monitoring at the first time point predicted intelligence at the third time point and vice versa, suggesting parallel development of these abilities and their reciprocal influence. Together, these results provide insights into the neuroanatomical correlates supporting the development of the capacity to self-reflect, and highlight the role of this capacity for general intellectual development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]