Charting the ontogeny of mnemonic processes in childhood: the COMIC dataset
Abstract
The human memory system balances two complementary functions: generalization, which involves extracting regularities across experiences, and specificity, which involves retaining the unique details of individual events. Understanding how this balance develops can benefit from a neurocomputational perspective in which three core computations, pattern categorization, pattern separation, and pattern completion, differentially support generalization and memory specificity. Guided by this framework, we present a dataset from 180 children aged 4–8 years who completed four age-appropriate memory tasks that provide behavioral indices of these computations. Children additionally completed three standardized intelligence subtests. Alongside the dataset, we describe a semi-automated data-cleaning pipeline designed for developmental behavioral data, which can serve as a template for identifying and resolving common data-quality issues in studies with young children. In sum, this dataset provides a resource for investigating the development of memory computations supporting adaptive functioning across early and middle childhood.
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BibTeX
@misc{mcclary2026charting,
title = {{Charting the ontogeny of mnemonic processes in childhood: the COMIC dataset}},
author = {Tydings M. McClary and Elisa S. Buchberger and Ann-Kathrin Joechner and Ulman Lindenberger and Chi T. Ngo and Markus Werkle-Bergner},
howpublished = {PsyArXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.31234/osf.io/d6e2w_v1},
url = {https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/d6e2w_v1/},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Charting the ontogeny of mnemonic processes in childhood: the COMIC dataset
AU - Tydings M. McClary
AU - Elisa S. Buchberger
AU - Ann-Kathrin Joechner
AU - Ulman Lindenberger
AU - Chi T. Ngo
AU - Markus Werkle-Bergner
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/06
PB - PsyArXiv
DO - 10.31234/osf.io/d6e2w_v1
UR - https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/d6e2w_v1/
AB - The human memory system balances two complementary functions: generalization, which involves extracting regularities across experiences, and specificity, which involves retaining the unique details of individual events. Understanding how this balance develops can benefit from a neurocomputational perspective in which three core computations, pattern categorization, pattern separation, and pattern completion, differentially support generalization and memory specificity. Guided by this framework, we present a dataset from 180 children aged 4–8 years who completed four age-appropriate memory tasks that provide behavioral indices of these computations. Children additionally completed three standardized intelligence subtests. Alongside the dataset, we describe a semi-automated data-cleaning pipeline designed for developmental behavioral data, which can serve as a template for identifying and resolving common data-quality issues in studies with young children. In sum, this dataset provides a resource for investigating the development of memory computations supporting adaptive functioning across early and middle childhood.
ER -