Nelson in 1993 hypothesized that autobiographical memories have a discrete onset sometime during the third year of life as memories become verbally shared as narratives, whereas Pillemer and White suggested in 1989 that autobiographical memory develops continuously and language enables communication. Analysis of first memories recalled by 40 students showed 92.5% were nonverbal and 90% involved knowledge about oneself, which is consistent with development being continuous.
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References
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PillemerD. B.WhiteS. H. (1989) Childhood events recalled by children and adults. In ReeseH. W. (Ed.), Advances in child development and behavior. Vol. 21. New York: Academic Press. Pp. 297–340.
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