On resolving the enigma of infantile amnesia.

@article{Howe1993OnRT,
  title={On resolving the enigma of infantile amnesia.},
  author={Mark L Howe and Mary L. Courage},
  journal={Psychological bulletin},
  year={1993},
  volume={113 2},
  pages={
          305-26
        }
}
Historical and current theories of infantile amnesia are examined. To evaluate the viability of these theories, as well as the phenomenon of infantile amnesia itself, a review of memory development from birth through the preschool years is provided, including an overview of relevant perceptual and neurological maturation. In the context of this review, extant theories of infantile amnesia are shown to falter, and it is concluded that infantile amnesia is a chimera of a previously unexplored… 
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The gradual emergence of autobiographical memories across the preschool years is demonstrated and this developmental process to specific developments in language, narrative, and understanding of self and other that vary among individuals, as well as by culture and gender are related.
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In the present experiment, it is examined how changes in scoring criteria influence the estimates of the age of adults’ earliest memories and it is concluded that some coding criteria are more valid than others and that the best estimates of childhood amnesia will include measures of free recall.
The emergence of autobiographical memory: a social cultural developmental theory.
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The authors consider the relevance of the theory to explanations of childhood amnesia and how the theory accounts for and predicts the complex findings on adults' earliest memories, including individual, gender, and cultural differences.
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