Le Developpement Precoce de la Memoire Specialisee

The study of specialized memory skills has a relative long history in experimental psychology, particularly with research on adults who practice their mnemonic skills within particular domains. The present study was designed to investigate the development of specialized mnemonic skills among young children. The study was undertaken in Morocco, which provided a context where 350 6-7 year old children were selected in such a way which allowed contrasts in terms of: preschool experience (none vs. Quranic vs. modern preschool); environment (urban vs. rural); maternal language (Arabic vs. Berber); and gender. Six differenct memory tests were employed including 4 different tests of serial memory, 1 discourse memory task, and 1 pictorial memory task. Results indicated specific and positive effects of Quranic preschooling on serial memory, but not on other memory tests which were affected by urban environment and maternal language. It was concluded that: (1) memory skills in young children are susceptible to change as a function of social context and, in particular, pedagogical experiences; and (2) the consequences of such early experience are specific rather than general, and are linked to particular types of social practices and domains of cognitive activity.