The development of memory for recurring events

While much of this volume concerns the development of memory for specific experiences, the focus of this chapter is on the development of memory for recurring events. Research from the last 25 years indicates that children and adults organize memory for recurring events in the form of general event schemas, referred to as scripts (Abelson, 1981; Schank & Abelson, 1977) or general event representations (GERs) (Nelson, 1986; Nelson & Gruendel, 1981). GERs are general knowledge structures that specify the sequence of expected actions in everyday events and are used to guide comprehension whenever events are experienced or referred to in discourse or text. GERs also include information about typical locations, people, and objects that are encountered in recurring events. Much of the early research on scripts and GERs focused on how general event knowledge developed in young children (e.g., Bauer & Mandler, 1989; Bauer & Shore, 1987; Nelson, 1986; Nelson & Gruendel, 1981) and how adults and children used scripts in text processing (e.g., Abelson, 1981; Adams & Worden, 1986; Bower, Black, & Turner, 1979; Hudson & Nelson, 1983). Later, researchers examined more closely the process of general knowledge acquisition (Farrar & Goodman, 1990, 1992; Fivush, Kuebli, & Clubb, 1992), infants’ and toddlers’ event memory (e.g., Bauer, Hertsgaard, Dropik, & Daly, 1998), and effects of general event knowledge on autobiographic memory (Baker-Ward, Gordon, Ornstein, Larus, & Clubb, 1993; Hudson, 1990; Hudson & Nelson, 1986; Myles-Worsley, Cromer, & Dodd, 1986). In the following review, we discuss five currently evolving and emerging areas of research: (1) the development of general event knowledge; (2) the organization of general and specific event knowledge in memory; (3) recall of specific episodes of recurring events; (4) the use of general event knowledge in planning; and (5) the role of general event knowledge in the development of time concepts.