Memory for Location and Picture Cues at Ages Two and Three

Abstract

3 delayed-relayed-response experiments are reported, testing 2-and 3-year-old children's memory for location of a hiddeen object under several combinations of spatial and pictorial cue availability and emphasis. In the first study, both age groups responded well on the basis of location cues alone. However, when picture cues were available, the 2-year-olds primarily relied on location while the 3-year-olds depended more pictures. The next studies asked if changes designed to de-emphasize location cues or emphasize pictures could encourage the younger children to make more use of pictorial information. Although these manipulations were only partially successful, the combined results of these studies suggest (1y, that information about both location and picture cues can be represented by both age groups and (2), that there is a real shift from reliance on place cues at age 2 to increased utilization of pictorial cues by age 3.