Charles J. Brainerd - Böcker

For a number of decades now the study of children's memory development, with few exceptions, has been synonymous with the development of pro­ cesses that lead to the initial encoding and immediate retention of informa­ tion. Although there is little doubt that the study of such acquisition pro­ cesses is central to understanding memory development, the long-term retention of previously encoded information represents at least as important a component of children's memory. Indeed, as both students of memory development and educators, our interest is in the maintenance and utiliza­ tion of knowledge over considerable periods of time, not just in the immedi­ ate (e. g. , classroom) context. Clearly, then, without an understanding of how recently acquired information is maintained in memory over extended periods of time, our theories of long-term memory development remain incomplete at best. Although children's forgetting and reminiscence was a topic of inquiry early in this century, it is only recently, due in part to the current controversy concerning the reliability of children's eyewitness testimony, that the study of long-term retention has resurfaced in the scientific literature. The purpose of this volume is to draw together some of the principals involved in this resurgence to summarize their recent research programs, present new and previously unpublished findings from their labs, and outline the issues they believe are important in the study of children's long-term retention.

For some time now, the study of cognitive development has been far and away the most active discipline within developmental psychology. Although there would be much disagreement as to the exact proportion of papers published in developmental journals that could be considered cognitive, 50% seems like a conservative estimate. Hence, a series of scholarly books devoted to work in cognitive development is especially appropriate at this time. The Springer Series in Cognitive Developmemt contains two basic types of books, namely, edited collections of original chapters by several authors, and original volumes written by one author or a small group of authors. The flagship for the Springer Series is a serial publication of the "advances" type, carrying the subtitle Progress in Cognitive Development Research. Each volume in the Progress sequence is strongly thematic, in that it is limited to some well­ defined domain of cognitive-developmental research (e. g. , logical and math­ ematical development, development of learning). All Progress volumes will be edited collections. Editors of such collections, upon consultation with the Series Editor, may elect to have their books published either as contributions to the Progress sequence or as separate volumes. All books written by one author or a small group of authors are being published as separate volumes within the series. A fairly broad definition of cognitive development is being used in the selection of books for this series.

Current and comprehensive, Formal Methods in Developmental Psychology reviews and explains the advantages and details of recent methodological advances in developmental psychology. The latest progress in the use of mathematical and computer-based tools in the formulation of theories and data analysis are discussed. Individual chapters describe different approaches to computer simulation and to mathematical modeling, as well as the use of these models in a number of substantive areas including infant vision, perception of intelligence, spatial knowledge, and memory processes. This unique contribution to the "Springer Series in Cognitive Development" allows the reader a better understanding of the many forms of modeling through explicit descriptions of the steps involved in the use of various methods.

It is a truism that as we age there are a number of underlying physiological changes conspiring to alter our level of behavioral and cognitive function­ ing. Despite the inherent interrelatedness of these behavioral and cognitive changes, all too often the papers we read confine themselves to specific, isolated components of the developing process. Although exceptions nat­ urally exist, we believe that these exceptions should become rule. Although an integrated approach is important in all areas of adult devel­ opment, it is perhaps particularly germane in the study of atypical aging. Here, changes in overall functioning can occur in rapid succession, with the synchrony of decline between different subprocesses making it difficult to factor changes in one process from changes in another. For example, because changes in cognitive functioning co-occur with other dramatic changes in (motoric) response capacities, it is unclear how one can effec­ tively study changes in the ability to cognize independent of changes in the very mechanisms (ability to execute motor sequences) so often used to index cognitive performance.

For some time now, the study of cognitive development has been far and away the most active discipline within developmental psychology. Although there would be much disagreement as to the exact proportion of papers published in developmen­ tal journals that could be considered cognitive, 50% seems like a conservative estimate. Hence, a series of scholarly books to be devoted to work in cognitive development is especially appropriate at this time. The Springer Series in Cognitive Development contains two basic types of books, namely, edited collections of original chapters by several authors, and original volumes written by one author or a small group of authors. The flagship for the Springer Series will be a serial publication of the "advances" type, carrying the subtitle Progress in Cognitive Development Research. Each volume in the Progress sequence will be strongly thematic, in that it will be limited to some well-defined domain of cognitive-developmental research (e. g. , logical and mathematical de­ velopment, semantic development). All Progress volumes will be edited collec­ tions. Editors of such collections, upon consultation with the Series Editor, may elect to have their books published either as contributions to the Progress sequence or as separate volumes. All books written by one author or a small group of authors will be published as separate volumes within the series. A fairly broad definition of cognitive development is being used in the selection of books for this series.