The Eyes Know Time: A Novel Paradigm to Reveal the Development of Temporal Memory

Abstract

Temporal memory in 7-year-olds, 10-year-olds, and young adults (N = 78) was examined introducing a novel eye-movement paradigm. Participants learned object sequences and were tested under three conditions: temporal order, temporal context, and recognition. Age-related improvements in accuracy were found across conditions; accuracy in the temporal conditions was correlated with conventional time knowledge. Eye movements tracked the veridicality of temporal order memory in adults and 10-year-olds seconds before providing memory judgments, suggesting that these movements reflect implicit access to temporal information. Seven-year-olds overall did not show this eye-movement effect, but those who did were more accurate than those who did not. Results suggest that eye movements capture aspects of temporal memory development that precede overt decision processes-with implications for hippocampal development.