AB with multiple wells: I. Why are multiple wells sometimes easier than two wells? II. Memory or memory + inhibition?

Abstract

Seventy-two infants of 9 1/2-10 months were tested with a 7-well apparatus and a 5-s delay. Other researchers had found worse performance with 2 wells than with more wells, leading some to question the role of memory in AB performance. We hypothesized that a difference in procedure might have caused the performance difference: In 2-well studies, both wells are covered simultaneously. In multiple well studies, only the correct well is uncovered and re-covered, which might help one maintain attention on the correct well