The development of short-term and incidental memory of Children in Partially Urban Area

Abstract

The purpose of this experiment was to examine the development of short-term and incidental memory of children in partially urban area. The subjects were one hundred students ranging in age from 4 to 21 years. The subjects were divided into five age groups with equal number of males and females. Each subjects was presented with a number of pictures of a pair of object and animal. Short-term memory was tested by correct recall of the location of a certain stimulus among the seven stimuli presented and turned upside down, for fourteen trials. Incidental memory was tested by the recall of the other stimulus that was always presented with the central stimulus during the fourteen trials. The results were (a) short-term memory scores increased with age; incidental memory scores increased from age 4 to 11 and then decreased at age 14-15 but increased again at age 20-21. (b) There were statistically significant differences in short-term memory performance of different age groups, and in the recall of tasks presented first (primacy) towards the middle of the trial (middle-position) or at the end of the trial (recency). (c) No sex differences were found in both central and incidental memory scores. (d) There was no relationship between central and incidental memory performance.