Why do people forget about the memories they experienced when they were young?

ByStephen Poff

"I do not remember what happened when I was a baby"Infantile amnesia"It is said that memories that become established even after becoming an adult are those after about 3 years of age. The results of experiments as to whether such memories around the age of zero to three years old will disappear will be summarized.

BPS Research Digest: Childhood amnesia kicks in around age 7
http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.jp/2014/01/childhood-amnesia-kicks-in-around-age-7.html


Although it should have experienced various memorable events, such as going to a family trip somewhere by the parents even when it is under 3 years old, it is the memory that is formed at the earliest stage at the age of 3 and under is there"Autobiographical memoryThat I do not remember when most people become adults is that "Infantile amnesiaIt is certified as ".

However, when asking children of about 3 years old past events, they can remember the event and talk, so we know that memory of 3 years and under does not exist, but forgets. Research in this field is mainly done on memories of adults and children,Emory UniversityofDr. Patricia BauerAnd Mr. Marina Larkina focused on children aged 3 to 7 years old.

ByArlo MagicMan

Dr. Bauer records scenes of questioning six past events such as the day the mother went to the zoo to a 3 year old child and the day of kindergarten entry. After that, after the children grew up, we met the same family and conducted an experiment that we asked mothers to ask the same question at the future point different from 5, 6, 7 years ... ... and check their memory ability.

ByDave Hogg

As a result, children aged 5 to 7 remembered 60% of the events they talked about when they were 3 years old, but the reminiscence of these events is hard to understand the meanings of time, place and description A comment was included. In contrast, children 8 and 9 years old only remembered about 40% of what was about 3 years old, but they remembered that the memory they remembered was easy to understand like an adult.

Moreover, as an unexpected discovery, it is said that a 3-year-old child who was questioned by the mother "Talking more?" "What happened?" Was able to remember the autobiography memory in more detail .

BySundaram Ramaswamy

Because of this, Dr. Bauer suggests that childhood amnesia will begin around the age of seven, and immature recollections around 5-7 years old promote forgetfulness of autobiographical memory as "forgetting to search" As we acquire the idea of ​​adults, I guess that memories of 3 years old or less will go away.