Conversations and Memory Processes: A Commentary

Abstract

SummaryThis commentary on Salmon and Reese lauds the efforts of the authors to explain the significance of parent–child conversations about negative events and experiences for children's subsequent memory for them. Salmon and Reese place their review in the context of theories of social–cultural development and attachment relationships, perspectives essential to understanding the development of skilled remembering. This commentary elaborates on Salmon and Reese's analysis by focusing on the basic processes involved in memory formation and later retrieval, with special emphasis on those that contribute to forgetting. The analysis further elucidates the myriad ways that parent–child conversations influence children's memory. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.