How is preschoolers' memory performance related to parental elaboration during reminiscence?

Abstract

The influence of parental reminiscing style – how parents discuss past events with their child – on preschoolers' independent memory skills (outside of parent–child conversations) and the processes involved in this effect (memory consolidation vs. development of strategies) is far from clear. To test this, 50 parent–child dyads (M_ChildAge = 52.12) were recruited. Parents' level of elaboration during reminiscing was measured while children completed tasks assessing their memories about two standardized events, one they had discussed with their parent and one they had not discussed, and an episodic task requiring the memorization of new information. Children of high-elaborative parents performed better than children of low-elaborative parents on the recognition test for the non-discussed event and for the episodic memory task. This suggests that parental elaboration is related to preschoolers' independent memory skills and that its effect might exceed memory consolidation and depend on processes like the acquisition of strategies.