In developmental psychology, what is infantile amnesia?

• A. A condition in which infants are unable to recognize their caregivers
• B. A disorder where children cannot form any new memories after birth
• C. The inability of adults to retrieve episodic memories from before the age of about 3 to 4 years
• D. The tendency for infants to forget newly learned motor skills

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand that infantile amnesia refers to a phenomenon observed in developmental psychology related to memory.
2. Recognize that it specifically involves the inability of adults to recall episodic memories from early childhood, typically before the age of 3 to 4 years.
3. Differentiate infantile amnesia from other memory-related conditions, such as an inability of infants to recognize caregivers or disorders affecting memory formation after birth.
4. Note that infantile amnesia is about retrieval failure of early memories rather than forgetting newly learned motor skills or other types of memory loss.
5. Summarize that infantile amnesia is best defined as the difficulty adults have in retrieving episodic memories from their infancy and early toddler years.