Consistency of adults’ earliest memories across two years

ABSTRACT

The consistency of earliest memories in content, dating, and memory qualities was investigated. A total of 84 (27 males; M_age?=?24.93, SD?=?1.36) adults reported earliest memories, estimated ages, and rated their recollections on memory qualities with a two-year time lag. At Time 2, their original reports at Time 1 were presented and they were asked to report whether the earliest memories they recalled at Time 2 were the same. Fifty-six per cent of the participants reported the same earliest memories and those remembering the same events had earlier memories than those remembering different ones. Although no significant differences were observed in estimated ages on the basis of mean ages, a predating bias of later memories and a tendency to postdate earlier memories were observed on the basis of a 48-month cut-off point. Thus, how the data is analysed is critical in detecting dating biases or errors affecting conclusions and interpretations about the dating consistency of earliest memories. Finally, memory qualities of earliest memories displayed a high level of consistency with a two-year time lag regardless of remembering the same versus different event.     

Longitudinal associations between impulsivity and lie-telling in childhood and adolescence

Lie-telling and impulsivity levels peak during late childhood to early adolescence and have been suggested to be related. Heightened impulsivity may lead adolescents to lie in favor of short-term benefits without consideration for the potential consequences of deception. The present study assessed longitudinal relations between self-reported impulsivity and lie-telling frequency. Participants from a large-scale longitudinal study (N = 1148; M_age = 11.55, SD = 1.69, 9–15 years at Time 1) reported on their impulsivity (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale) and their frequency of lie-telling to parents, to teachers, to friends, and about cheating across two time points 1 year apart. Cross-lagged path analysis revealed greater impulsivity was associated with more frequent lie-telling to parents, friends, and teachers, and about cheating over time. Our findings demonstrate the role of impulsivity in the development of lie-telling behaviors.

Research Highlights

• Impulsivity predicts lying across time in multiple contexts (to parents, friends, teachers, and about cheating).
• Previous research has demonstrated the role of top-down influences on lie-telling, but the current study suggests that bottom-up processes are also influential.

     

Family play,reading, and other stimulation and early childhood development in five low-and-middle-income countries

This paper used longitudinal data from five studies conducted in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Ethiopia, and Rwanda to examine the links between family stimulation and early childhood development outcomes (N = 4904; M_age = 51.5; 49% girls). Results from random-effects and more conservative child-fixed effects models indicate that across these studies, family stimulation, measured by caregivers’ engagement in nine activities (e.g., reading, playing, singing), predicted increments in children's early numeracy, literacy, social-emotional, motor, and executive function skills (standardized associations ranged from 0.05 to 0.11 SD). Study-specific models showed variability in the estimates, with null associations in two out of the five studies. These findings indicate the need for additional research on culturally specific ways in which caregivers may support early development and highlight the importance of promoting family stimulation to catalyze positive developmental trajectories in global contexts.

Research Highlights

• Research on the links between family stimulation and early childhood development in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) is limited.
• We used longitudinal data from studies conducted in five LMICs to examine the links between family stimulation and early childhood development outcomes.
• Results suggest that family stimulation predicted increments in children's numeracy, literacy, social-emotional, motor, and executive function skills.
• We found variability in the observed estimates, with null associations in two out of the five studies, suggesting the need for additional research in LMICs.

     

Waiting for a treat. Studying behaviors related to self-regulation in 18- and 24-month-olds

The ability to delay gratification – conceived as an early expression of self-regulation – develops in the second half of the second year of life. We used inductive methodology to identify different behaviors and set of behaviors performed by children while waiting for a treat. We asked which sets are more effective when it comes to successfully delaying gratification and how all observed sets change during toddler age. 130 children were tested twice – at 18 and at 24 months – using a Snack Delay Task. We observed 20 different behaviors and distinguished 4 sets of behaviors. The most important and effective set for delaying gratification in 18 and in 24 month olds was the set called Attention and Movements. We concluded that growth in the ability to delay gratification resulted from increased ability to overcome temptation by using an active strategy mainly based on attention.     

Whose picture is this? Children's memory for item and source information

Children aged 3½ to 6½ years viewed pictures of common objects presented either once or three times on one of two consecutive days. A different hand puppet was used to present the pictures on each day, providing both perceptual and temporal cues to source. At test, old (studied) and new (non‐studied) pictures were presented for item recognition and source identification. Results showed that both item and source accuracy were higher for older (M = 5; 9 years) than younger children (M = 4; 6 years). Significant interactions between Age and Day of study were found for both item and source accuracy. For younger children, accuracy was higher for pictures studied on Day 1 than Day 2 (significant for source identification but not item recognition), whereas older children showed the opposite pattern: Higher accuracy for Day 2 than Day 1 (significant for item recognition but not source identification). Results are interpreted with respect to proactive interference and response bias. The utility of signal detection theory measures in determining the basis of age differences in performance of source identification is discussed.     

Factor structure of the Friends and Family interview

The aim of this study was to specify the latent construct structure of the Friends and Family Interview (FFI: Steele & Steele, 2005) based on its dimensional scale coding protocol. The FFI is a semi-structured interview measuring attachment in middle childhood. We analyzed data from 341 FFI interviews with children aged 7–12 years, recruited in the Scandinavian Öresund Region. Exploratory Factor Analysis revealed a three-component model as best fitting the data. The first component, denoting attachment security, gathered all dimensional scales for evidence of secure base/safe haven regarding mother/father and coherence in the child’s narrative style, along with scales regarding reflective functioning, self-perception, and social functioning. The second component comprised preoccupying feelings of anger, but also derogation. The third component gathered all scales coding idealization. Inter-relations among the components were consistent with attachment theory, and respondents’ scores for all three components differed significantly across the four categorical attachment classifications. Affect regulation of negative emotion through anger and through derogation co-occurred, and was distinct from regulation through maintaining a belief that things are better than they appear (idealization). These two affect regulation strategies appeared commonly when reflective functioning, and an organized self-perception, and positive peer relations were less in evidence. The multi-dimensional FFI coding system appears to measure successfully these diverse features of the child’s narrative provided in response to the interview. Overall, our findings support the construct validity of the FFI and provide further evidence of its usefulness for assessing attachment in middle childhood and early adolescence.     

A longitudinal intergenerational analysis of executive functions during early childhood

Despite the importance of executive function (EF) in both clinical and educational contexts, the aetiology of individual differences in early childhood EF remains poorly understood. This study provides the first longitudinal intergenerational analysis of mother–child EF associations during early childhood. A group of children and their mothers (n = 62) completed age‐appropriate EF tasks. Mother and child EFs were modestly correlated by 24 months of age, and this association was stable through 48 months. Importantly, maternal–child EF associations were still robust after controlling for verbal ability (potential indicator of verbal/crystallized intelligence) and maternal education (correlate of socio‐economic status and verbal intelligence). Potential implications of these findings as well as underlying mechanisms of the maternal–child EF association (gene–environment interplay) are discussed.