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ERIC Number: EJ1233898
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1524-8372
EISSN: N/A
Human Actions Support Infant Memory
Howard, Lauren H.; Woodward, Amanda L.
Journal of Cognition and Development, v20 n5 p772-789 2019
Agents are important for structuring memory in adulthood. However, it is unclear whether this "social memory bias" stems from a reliance on agents in verbal narratives, or whether it reflects more fundamental preverbal memory processes. By testing 9-month-old infants in a non-verbal eye-tracking paradigm, we were able to effectively compare infant memory for events construed as the goal-directed action of an agent with those construed as the outcome of an inanimate object. Results demonstrate that preverbal infants' memory increased for events including an agent as opposed to an inanimate object (Exp 1). Memory was also enhanced if infants were trained to perceive the inanimate object as an agent's tool (Exp 2). Memory results were not dependent on attention differences to the events during encoding. Thus, these experiments suggest that the presence of a person in an event can alter foundational memory processes.
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (NIH)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: P01HD064653