A new study led by Dr. Carolyn Baer, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Algoma University, offers new insight into how young children remember the sources of information they've learned. The study examined source memory in children, finding that preschoolers are most likely to recall firsthand information when they anticipate that someone else might disagree with them.
Dr. Baer and her collaborators studied both English and Turkish speaking children between the ages of three and four. The results show that even at this young age, children are sensitive not only to what they know, but to how they know it. When they had directly observed an event and anticipated that someone else might not share their view, they were more accurate in remembering the source of their knowledge.
"These findings have real-world value for parents, educators, and anyone working with young children," said Dr. Carolyn Baer. "When we encourage kids to consider that others might see things differently, we help them build stronger memories, better communication skills, and critical thinking from an early age."
This ability to track the origin of what they've learned is called "source memory" and is an important foundation for reasoning, communication, and decision-making. The study highlights that young children aren't merely passive recipients of information they are already beginning to think critically about what sources are most reliable and to anticipate that others may see things differently.
Language plays an important role. Turkish is a language that requires speakers to include grammatical markers indicating how they came to know something, and forces speakers to indicate whether something was directly experienced or learned second-hand. Children who speak the language were more attuned to these distinctions earlier in life. This suggests that both social awareness and linguistic structure contribute to how memory develops in early childhood.
The full study is available to read at the American Psychological Association website.
