Developmental changes in preschoolers' ability to distinguish memories of performed,pretended, and imagined actions |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Chair of Developmental Psychology, University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany;2. Leibniz-Institut für Bildungsverläufe e.V., Bamberg, Germany;1. Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Otto Hahn Research Group on Associative Memory in Old Age, Berlin, Germany;2. Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden;3. Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden;4. Umeå Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden;5. Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine, Umeå University, S-90197, Umeå, Sweden;6. Tilburg School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Department of Developmental Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, the Netherlands;1. Department of Special Needs Education and Youth Care, University of Groningen, Grote Rozenstraat 38, 9712 TJ Groningen, The Netherlands;2. Kempe Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect, Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, 13123 East 16th Avenue, B390, Aurora, CO 80045, USA;3. The Louis and Gabi Weisfeld School of Social Work, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel |
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| Abstract: | The goals of the research presented in this article were to: a) examine changes in pre-schoolers' ability to distinguish among memories of performed, pretended, and imagined episodes, and b) use source monitoring as a tool for inferring the nature of preschoolers' conceptualizations of pretense. The participants, 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds, performed, pretended, and imagined performing actions. After a short delay, they identified the origin of their memories in a 3-alternative, forced-choice procedure. Results showed significant improvements between ages 3 and 4 in the ability to distinguish: a) performed actions from imagined actions, and b) performed actions from pretended actions. However, 4- and 5- year-olds confused memories of pretended and imagined actions. These results were replicated in a second experiment with 3- and 4-year-olds, using a simpler 2-alternative, forced-choice format. The findings suggest that, by age 4, children represent both pretense and imagination in memory according to cognitive operation features associated with generating a fictional mental state. Thus, 4-year-olds may recognize that constructing a mental, alternative reality is an important part of pretense. |
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