The role of memory and integration in early time concepts

The nature of 5- to 8-year-old childrens ' time concepts was examined by analyzing two possible explanations for the greater difficulty children demonstrate in comparing durations that differ in beginning times as compared to those that differ in ending times. The explanations were (a) poor recall of beginnings as compared to endings due to their lower salience, (b) difficulty in integrating information from both points and reliance on endings only due to their greater salience. The subjects were 630 boys and girls from kindergarten to second grade. The children were presented with a series of two lights in different orders and combinations and were asked to compare order of beginnings and endings, and duration of the two lights. Results contradicted the memory explanation. In addition, repetitious questioning about order of one point (beginning or ending) appeared to have shifted children's attention from that point to the complementary point. Possible sources of children's failure to integrate beginning and end points when comparing durations were discussed.