Self-referent encoding facilitates memory binding in young children: New insights into the self-reference effect in memory development.

•Forming and retrieving item-context bindings is a key process in episodic memory.•Binding in young children was examined in two conditions (dogs, people).•Items were encoded in the context of one of two dogs or people (self versus other).•Binding recognition was more accurate in the people than dogs condition.•Self-referent advantages emerged on memory for items, contexts and bindings.