Autobiographical Memory and Cognitive Development

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Table of Contents

Infancy
Pre-school children
School going children
Adolescence stage
References

Autobiographical memory is a term that can be used to refer to events that took place at a particular place and time. Autobiographical memory is dependent on the Childs ability to bring up a personal life story in the memory. Development of Autobiographical memory occurs in stages just like other human development processes. After conception the fetus undergoes development in the brain that facilitates cognitive processes to commence. The type of food materials and nutrients a pregnant mother feeds on determine cognitive development of the unborn child.

After the baby is born brain development continues and autobiographical memory starts accumulating in the infant. This is facilitated by the child mother interaction. Objects of play such as toys are very significant in the development of autobiographical memory during infancy.

From infancy there is the pre-school age whereby the child accumulates autobiographical memory as a result of interaction with the parents and playmates. The recognition of the self is more developed here as depicted when the child can distinguish his/her images from those of other children.

Here the child is normally exposed to learning materials that also aid in the autobiographical memory. In the school going autobiographical memory continues to develop and accumulate as learning materials in class and even outside the class environment. In adolescence the child undergoes various changes that determine cognitive and autobiographical memory. (Conway.& Pleydell , 2000).

Infancy

Infancy stage refers to the period between conception and about two years of life outside the mother’s womb. During this stage important cognitive processes take place and are fundamental towards the development of autobiographical memory in the infants. From birth as the child develops the reflexes they mark the beginning of autobiographical memory. This is the period of sensory motor development. It is marked by important body sensitivity movements especially towards images and even touch as stimuli. during the first twelve to eighteen month the infant tries to experiment and do some creativity. This is very important as far retention of information is concerned. It is the sensation and interaction between the body and the environment of the infant that brings about cognitive development. The hand and eye coordination that come about at round four to eight months are very important in later stages whereby the infant needs the coordination to commence the development of the self through mirror images and other pictorial objects supplied in the environment.( Conway, M.A.& Pleydell Pearce, 2000).

Studies have revealed that infants tend to react to mirror images. They tend to have a positive reaction towards their mirror images and within several months they can discriminate their images from those of other infants. Studies have also shown that at the age of around 8 months, infants start demonstrating awareness of the contingency cues. This is indicated when they start moving along their images and utilize them for playing and even imitation. at round 18 months they begin to show mark directed behavior especially when they are noted to touch their noses when something is applied to them. When an infant can recognize his/her images whether in photos or using mirror then this marks the development of the self recognition facet in the process of autobiographical memory development. This recognition of personal features is an important aspect of social cognition process which is essential for autobiographical memory build up.

Infants tend to show imitation and other similar actions and are important to the Childs cognitive development and autobiographical memory. The continuous repetition of things like toys within the infants environment provide important memory cues. These are quite essential for the child to remember since the brain is still young and has not accumulated much in terms of knowledge and information. Infants when they are exposed to different objects they tend to show certain actions which represent various meaning s. Some when exposed to some of their photos they begin to show shyness or embarrassment. This contributes a lot towards the development of their memory. Activities repeated to the infants normally cause imitation for instance movement with mirror images or dolls. This help the infants to have important memory cues that form part of the autobiographical memory at this early stage. Therefore the fact those infants are in a position to elicit imitation after being exposed to some objects in their environment, then this shows that there is some memory gain at this stage. Reinforcement in infants in all sorts of ways can also contribute towards retention of information within the Childs mind. a stage in cognitive development symbolic representation which marks the end of trial and error is very important in autobiographical memory. All the stage of sensory motor period are essential towards retention of information that contribute to autobiographical memory. However during infancy most people cannot remember what was happening, their behavior and other important things. Therefore they have to be told by their parents or other people who were close to them. (Cleveland, & Reese,2005).

Pre-school children

In stage in life children with normal minds would have acquired some information in their cognitive structures. In this stage the speed of processing information in more improved than in the infant stage. The children during their play can demonstrate creativity and a lot of imitation which symbolizes in formation retention and storage.

These children are in the preoperational cognitive development stage. They can be able to classify objects which are put together. When exposed to television or moving objects this children can imitate what they observe. Parents at this stage contribute a lot to help their children to remember. This is achieved through singing other forms of repetitions that help to stick information into the Childs mind. The play materials also help pre-school students to gain a lot from the environment. Language skill which is a very essential aspect of memory develops during this stage. The child in pre –school age can start representing objects and images into words. However it is vital to note that most of the word s here are not used logically. The child tends to use words randomly but they are of meaning. to his/ her memory. Repetition of words by the child at th I stage is important for development of autobiographical memory.

At this stage the child lacks awareness that other people who are around do not think in the same way as he/she thinks. Lack of this kind of awareness also affects the autobiographical memory in children. Children also tend to like one another so much at this stage. They also tend apply emotions to objects that do not have life. Toys supplied to the children at this stage are treated like humans. All these activities influence the e development of autobiographical memory as they involve retention of information within the Childs mind. As language develops in the mind of the child he/she begins to respond with some sort of sound when his/her name is called and especially by the mother. This response is a sure indication that some autobiographical information has been stored and retrieved for use by the child. During the time of distress, most children have been noted to call the mom and without cognitive development within the mind of the child this cannot be achieved. Most of the children in this category tend to be egocentric according to studies. This can be understood to be strengthening of the self concept that was characteristic of the infancy stage.

Egocentrism is a very essential aspect of autobiographical memory as an individual focuses on himself as others are kept aside. The attentions the parents pay to the children at this age also influences the development of autobiographical memory. If the children attention is not well looked into, they tend to fade away and this means loss to the memory of important activities to the Childs mind. Reinforcement and reprimand or even punishment of undesirable behavior by the parents to the child at this age remains in the memory of the child as he grows.

Most of the children who were severely punished at this age with uncaring mothers tend to have flashbacks of whatever that took place and it is part of their autographical memory. There in pre –school age the parents and language development are crucial for better development of autobiographical memory. It is vital to underscore that during this stage, in terms of autobiographical memory most individuals are not able to vividly recall the events that they went through other than those they were told by their parents or even relatives.

School going children

Most of the autobiographical memory in this age group can be recalled by individuals. This stage covers between four to seven years. These children have developed language skills and can communicate well with other people. They can take instruction provided in their first language. The child in this bracket can use logical reasoning and mental processes to solve problems. This ability to solve problems plays a major role towards remembering of events that take place in the memory of the child. Even though these children can utilize mental abilities in finding solutions to problems, they are not in a position to know how they arrive at specific conclusions. This also affects their memory In the school so many things take place in the life of the child. There is the learning part where imitation plays a significant role in retention of materials. Logic is acquired in the course of learning in the school age. When children are exposed to tasks such as counting of numbers, they can learn logic and improve their memory status. Play also is very essential to the child at this particular age. Without it the memory of the child will lack important aspects in future.

Because of language development, the children can utilize this skill to understand others for instance during play. They are also able to make out what the adults say. Most people would start remembering their autobiographical data from this age onwards.

Play as a important tool for retaining of information is used here by the children to recall people they were playing, with and their teachers plus the place this happened.

Since language is elaborate at this stage in the life of many people, autobiographical memory comes out vividly during this stage. Otherwise anything below this age all is narrated by the parents and particularly the mother.

School going children have improved information processing and recording than in the pre-school age. Therefore autobiographical memory in this stage is much organized than it is in earlier stage. This is because the child here would have developed skills such as logic with which they utilize to organize pieces of information that can contribute towards autobiographical memory. School going children can reason locally and find solutions to problems. They even can explain how they arrive at conclusions in whatever they have done.

The way the teachers and parents narrate their past events and concepts to the children also improves on autobiographical memory retention in the pupils.

Teachers repetition of important people in life who can act as role models within the school or world also helps strengthen autobiographical data. How best an in an individual becomes a good narrator of his past depends on how the parents and teachers narrated it. These are the main role models for the children who are school going. The type of play and learning materials the children are exposed to also contribute towards autobiographical information. For instance most people would remember the materials they used to handle for various arts at these early stages of education. The responsibilities assigned to the children at these stages also might count in their future autobiographies. Therefore school going age in the life of many people provides an important beginning of vivid events that took place and shaped the life of an individual. Other stages from the school going age are characterized with a a very clear record of activities and events that are always on the mind of the child until he/she grows into an adult.

Adolescence stage

This is a very crucial stage in the development of autographical memory. During this stage most developmental activities occur and contribute towards the enhancement of autobiographical memory. Learning activities both at home and at school are fundamental towards the development of the cognitive and consequently the autobiographical memory.

According to Piarget cognition in this stage is preoperational whereby things in the learning environment become more abstract to the learners. During this stage in life as the children interact in school with the teachers and peers they are better positioned to absorb what they are taught by their teachers and believe them. They also try reasoning about the events they are told and even make logical conclusions about such things. In the cause of such processes of cognitive developments the autobiographical memory also develops within their cognitive structures. This is also neighbored by the teachers when they repeat narrating to them how their past experiences were. This stage is also characterized by a high degree of self consciousness amongst the youths.

The self ability develops much during stage and it is facilitated by the high self consciousness whereby most of the children and seeking self identity after knowing what they are. (Fitzgerald, 1981).

In them there is normally a unique sense whereby they feel that nobody can understand them.

Therefore autographical memory is greatly enhanced at this stage since most of the events can be remembered and can never get out of most peoples minds. Another important feature to note about adolescents is that they normally hold an imaginary audience whereby they think that someone is watching them in whatever they are doing. This helps much in strengthening their memory cues. They also normally have a feeling that others are interested in them as much as they are to themselves. This makes them concentrates so much on life shaping activities that will go long way in their history. These events like the favorite sport or play is always kept in mind and thus helps to shape their autobiographical memory. The advantages this group has towards development of autographical memory one is that they have a very high speed of processing information. This age group is characterized with high automation and increased capacity of information processing than the earlier stages in child development. Therefore due to this cognitive advantage the autobiographical memory of adolescents is very much enhanced as they can do things quickly than the infants and the pre- school children. This age also have the advantage of an increased breadth of knowledge and information. This feature in adolescents helps them to know many things and events which make up the autobiographical memory Adolescents can process information at very fast speed. They interpret events and things within the environment quickly and due to such interactions they are therefore very fast to catch up with the memory cues.

Adolescents therefore in the course of their cognitive development, posses important features of their minds that enable them develop and enhance their autobiographical memory. Alongside the cognitive features the environment in which adolescents find themselves in also contributes towards important memory cues that help them keep track of the events that keep happening in their lives. For them to better develop autobiographical memory, teachers and parents ought to provide conducive environment for the development of cognitive and consequently autobiographical memories which will be reflected in their future.

In conclusion it is important to point out that cognitive development in an individual facilitates the development of autobiographical memory in all the stages of human development. This step by step process is greatly influenced by interaction and provision of the appropriate environmental requirements for the child beginning from infancy to adolescence.

Autobiographical me memory increases gradually as the child develops cognitive structure within the mind. Imitation and repetition of events as done by the adults ,have been noted to be very significant contributors to the accumulation of autobiographical memory in the children. However at infancy very little is available for the autobiographical memory because important features are not yet developed for instance language. Most people in their lives start vividly recalling their past from the school going age when the language tools are adequate to help in understanding the environment.

References

Conway, M.A.& Pleydell Pearce, C. W.(2000). The construction of autobiographical memories in the self memory system. Psychological Review, 107, 261-288. 2).

Rubin,D.C. Schrauf,R>W., & Greenberg, D.L. (2003). Belief and recollection of autobiographical memories. Memory and cognition, 31,887-901.3).

McLean,k., & Fournier, M. (2008). The content and processes of autobiographic research in narrative idntity. Journal of Research in Personality, 43 (3), 527-545. 4).

Harly, K. & Reese, E. (1999). Origins of Autobiographical Memory, Development Psychology,35, (5), 1338-1348. 5). 6).

Cleveland, E.S. & Reese,E. (2005). Maternal strucure ans autonomy support in children’s autobiographical memory. Developmental Psychology, 41 (2), 376-388. 7).

Ornstein, P, Baker-Ward,L, Gordon, B, Pelphrey, C., & Gramzow, E. (2006). The influence of prior knowledge and repeated quesrioning on children’s long- term retention of the details of a pediatric examination. Developoment Psychology, 42, (2),332-344. 8).

Fitzgerald,J.M. (1981). Autobiographical Memory Reports in Adolescence. Canadan Jounal Psychology, 35,

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