Memory at Play: Examining Relations Between Episodic and Semantic Memory in a Children's Museum.

Abstract

The relation between episodic and semantic memory was examined by testing how semantic knowledge influences children's episodic memory for events and their locations. Five-, six-, and seven-year-olds (N=87) engaged in events in a children's museum designed as a town. Events were semantically congruent or incongruent with the spatial location (e.g., sorting mail at post office vs. grocery store). In addition to this experimental paradigm, a semantic interview assessed children's semantic knowledge about real-world locations. Accuracy in the experimental paradigm showed that children's semantic memory influenced memory for locations. Interviews revealed age-related improvements in children's semantic knowledge. Regression analyses examined factors that best supported episodic memory. These results provide novel insights and highlight the utility of research in naturalistic settings.