Patterns of memory abilities in two cultures

Presents evidence that patterns of abilities, rather than absolute differences along a single dimension, are the best cross-cultural evidence for the effects of environment and culture upon memory development. An object and place recall task was administered to 96 5- and 7-yr-old Ss in the US and in a village in Guatemala. Actual vs verbal presentation of the objects and places to be remembered was varied. Place recall was better than object recall in the Guatemalan but not in the American children. Results suggest that environment and culture can contribute to the differential development of various mnemonic abilities. Soviet suggestions regarding the role of external mediators were also supported.