Development of evaluative and incidental self-reference effects in childhood

•Children aged 6–11 years show robust self-reference effects (SREs) in memory.•The developmental trajectory of SREs varies by type (incidental or evaluative)•Incidental SREs are developmentally stable across the age range tested.•Evaluative SREs are larger than incidental SREs from around 8 years of age.•The magnitude of evaluative SREs increases between 8 years and adulthood.