The memory is in the details: Relations between memory for the specific features of events and long-term recall during infancy

The second year of life is marked by pronounced changes in the length of time over which events are remembered. We tested whether the age-related differences are related to differences in memory for the specific features of events. In our study, 16- and 20-month-olds were tested for immediate and long-term recall of individual actions and temporal order of actions of three-step sequences in an elicited imitation paradigm as well as for forced-choice recognition of the specific feature of the props used to produce the sequences. Memory for the props was related to long-term recall of the events only for the 20-month-olds. It accounted for unique variance above and beyond the variance explained by immediate recall of the individual actions and the temporal order of actions of the sequences. The different pattern of relations in the older and younger infants seemingly reflects a developmental difference in the determinants of long-term recall over the second year of life.