Which of the following best describes the main finding in Rovee-Collier's experiment regarding infant memory?

• A. Infants are unable to form any memories until they reach one year of age.
• B. Infant memory is limited to only visual stimuli and does not extend to motor actions.
• C. Infants as young as two months can retain learned associations for several days, demonstrating that infants have the capacity for long-term memory.
• D. Infants can only remember information for a few seconds, indicating the absence of short-term memory.

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Understand the context of Rovee-Collier's experiment, which primarily investigated infant memory by observing how infants learn and remember associations between their actions and outcomes.
2. Step 2: Recognize that the experiment involved infants as young as two months old, who were taught to perform a specific motor action (like kicking) to produce a consequence (such as moving a mobile).
3. Step 3: Note that the key finding was that these infants could remember the learned association for several days, indicating the presence of long-term memory even at a very young age.
4. Step 4: Contrast this finding with common misconceptions, such as the belief that infants cannot form memories before one year or that their memory is limited to visual stimuli only.
5. Step 5: Conclude that the main takeaway is infants' capacity for long-term memory retention demonstrated through learned motor actions, which challenges earlier assumptions about infant memory development.