Abstract
Recollection of early childhood experiences was investigated in European
Canadian and Chinese children (ages 8, 11, and 14) by a memory fluency task
that measured accessibility of multiple early memories, and elicited the
earliest memory. Younger children provided memories of events that occurred
at earlier ages than older children. Furthermore, Canadian children produced
more memories and had an earlier age of first memory than did Chinese
children, with cultural differences in both measures increasing with age. It
appears that while adult-like childhood amnesia is still emerging among
Canadian children, Chinese children by age 14 already resemble adults.
Content of Canadian versus Chinese children's memories reflected an
autonomous versus relational self-construal. Results are discussed in terms
of sociocultural influences on memory.