Carolyn Rovee-Collier's Legacy to Applied Psychology, Intervention, and Public Policy

In this article, the authors reflect upon Carolyn Rovee-Collier's pioneering research on learning and memory in infants, especially that using the mobile conjugate reinforcement task, for our understanding of (a) cognitive development in infants born prematurely and those with Down's syndrome and (b) her prediction that infants’ performance in the mobile conjugate reinforcement and similar operant tasks would predict later intellectual functioning. We then examine the implications of her research on time windows (the integration of new information into a memory) and memory reactivation (the retrieval of a forgotten memory as a result of the re-exposure to a component of the original learning experience) for early intervention programs and clinicians treating victims of early trauma. We conclude with a discussion of the value of Rovee-Collier's work for the growing field of infant/toddler science and how this science has informed public policy and program development.