Episodic memory in 16- and 20-month-old children: Specifics are generalized but not forgotten.

Three experiments tested (a) whether 1- to 2-year-olds generalize their knowledge of events to new instantiations and (b) one possible mechanism by which generalization is accomplished. In Experiment 1, 16- and 20-month-old children enacted 6 event sequences. One week later they were tested for delayed recall. At delayed testing the props used to enact one half of the events were replaced by novel, functionally equivalent props. Children in both age groups used the new props to enact the events, thereby demonstrating spontaneous generalization. Experiments 2 and 3 tested whether generalization is accomplished through forgetting of the specific details of the original event. At Session 1, 16- (Experiments 2 and 3) and 20-month-olds (Experiment 2) enacted 4 events