Transition from Novelty to Familiarity Preference Depending on Recognition Performance by 4-Yr.-Olds

Abstract

Preference seems to depend exclusively on individual tastes; however, preferential behavior may be determined by memory, as past studies have shown that preferences for objects depended on whether objects had been previously experienced. Infants and young children prefer novel stimuli, while adults prefer familiar stimuli. To investigate the relationship between memory and preference directly, a preference task and a recognition task were administered to the same subjects. The subjects were 4-yr.-olds because Uehara observed a change in preference for novelty and familiarity in 4-yr.-olds, depending on their recognition performance. The results were similar to those of Uehara. The children who had lower scores in the recognition task preferred the novel stimuli in the preference task, and the children who had higher scores preferred the familiar. Developmental changes within children, from low scores on recognition coupled with novelty preference to high scores on recognition coupled with familiarity preference, were observed.