智课网托福备考资料托福阅读――事实否定题（十七）InfantileAmnesiaWhatdoyourememberaboutyourlifebeforeyouwerethree?Fewpeoplecanrememberanythingthathappenedtothemintheirearlyyears.Adults'memoriesofthenextfewyearsalsotendtobescanty.Mostpeoplerememberonlyafewevents—usuallyonesthatweremeaningfulanddistinctive,suchasbeinghospitalizedorasibling’sbirth.Howmightthisinabilitytorecallearlyexperiencesbeexplained?Thesheerpassageoftimedoesnotaccountforit;adultshaveexcellentrecognitionofpicturesofpeoplewhoattendedhighschoolwiththem35yearsearlier.Anotherseeminglyplausibleexplanation—thatinfantsdonotformenduringmemoriesatthispointindevelopment—alsoisincorrect.Childrentwoandahalftothreeyearsoldrememberexperiencesthatoccurredintheirfirstyear,andelevenmontholdsremembersomeeventsayearlater.Nordoesthehypothesisthatinfantileamnesiareflectsrepression—orholdingback—ofsexuallychargedepisodesexplainthephenomenon.Whilesuchrepressionmayoccur,peoplecannotrememberordinaryeventsfromtheinfantandtoddlerperiodseither.Threeotherexplanationsseemmorepromising.Oneinvolvesphysiologicalchangesrelevanttomemory.Maturationofthefrontallobesofthebraincontinuesthroughoutearlychildhood,andthispartofthebrainmaybecriticalforrememberingparticularepisodesinwaysthatcanberetrievedlater.Demonstrationsofinfants’andtoddlers'long-termmemoryhaveinvolvedtheirrepeatingmotoractivitiesthattheyhadseenordoneearlier,suchasreachinginthedarkforobjects,puttingabottleinadoll’smouth,orpullingaparttwopiecesofatoy.Thebrain’slevelofphysiologicalmaturationmaysupportthesetypesofmemories,butnotonesrequiringexplicitverbaldescriptions.Asecondexplanationinvolvestheinfluenceofthesocialworldonchildren’slanguageuse.Hearingandtellingstoriesabouteventsmayhelpchildrenstoreinformationinwaysthatwillendureintolaterchildhoodandadulthood.Throughhearingstorieswithaclearbeginning,middle,andendingchildrenmaylearntoextractthegistofeventsinwaysthattheywillbeabletodescribemanyyearslater.Consistentwiththisview,parentsandchildrenincreasinglyengageindiscussionsofpasteventswhenchildrenareaboutthreeyearsold.However,hearingsuchstoriesisnotsufficientforyoungerchildrentoformenduringmemories.Tellingsuchstoriestotwoyearoldsdoesnotseemtoproducelong-lastingverbalizablememories.Athirdlikelyexplanationforinfantileamnesiainvolvesincompatibilitiesbetweenthewaysinwhichinfantsencodeinformationandthewaysinwhicholderchildrenandadultsretrieveit.Whetherpeoplecanrememberaneventdependscriticallyonthefitbetweenthewayinwhichtheyearlierencodedtheinformationandthewayinwhichtheylaterattempttoretrieveit.Thebetterablethepersonistoreconstructtheperspectivefromwhichthematerialwasencoded,themorelikelythatrecallwillbesuccessful.Thisviewissupportedbyavarietyoffactorsthatcancreatemismatchesbetweenveryyoungchildren'sencodingandolderchildren'sandadults'retrievalefforts.Theworldlooksverydifferenttoapersonwhoseheadisonlytwoorthreefeetabovethegroundthantoonewhoseheadisfiveorsixfeetaboveit.Olderchildrenandadultsoftentrytoretrievethenamesofthingstheysaw,butinfantswouldnothaveencodedtheinformationverbally.Generalknowledgeofcategoriesofeventssuchasabirthdaypartyoravisittothedoctor'sofficehelpsolderindividualsencodetheirexperiences,butagain,infantsandtoddlersareunlikelytoencodemanyexperienceswithinsuchknowledgestructures.Thesethreeexplanationsofinfantileamnesiaarenotmutuallyexclusive;indeed,theysupport...
