Understanding Autobiographical Memory of Children Through Self-Report

Abstract

This research was designed to explore autobiographical memory in children, specifically, the personal events involved in memory and memory failures and to what extent children and adults realize what they have forgotten. Since previous research in this domain has focused mainly on adult's or children's ability to recall past events, few have ventured to investigate what underlies the process of forgetting for everyday events in parents and children, and if a link exists between the two. Survey data pertaining to self-reported memory failures along with information on the amount of interaction between parents and children was collected from parents and children at a local elementary school. The results showed that children and parents were more likely to report failure in prospective memory (forgetting to do something) than retrospective memory (forgetting something they already knew). Additionally, when asked what they thought had caused the failure, children were more likely to attribute the lapse to external distractions. Finally, the data showed that the degree of parent-child interaction was significantly related to the detail provided in a child's reported memory failures. The results are discussed in the context of developing a better understanding of, and suggest future avenues for, research in memory and memory failures in children, as well as understanding the relation between parent/child memory.

Notes

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Thesis Completion

2006

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Jentsch, Florian G.

Degree

Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Degree Program

Psychology

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Sciences; Sciences -- Dissertations, Academic

Format

Print

Identifier

DP0021998

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Document Type

Honors in the Major Thesis

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