Children's memory for a personally experienced event: Implications for testimony

✍ Scribed by Peter A. Ornstein; Betty N. Gordon; Deanna M. Larus

• Book ID: 102684846
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1992
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 792 KB
• Volume: 6
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0888-4080
• DOI: 10.1002/acp.2350060103

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

This study was prompted by an interest in children's abilities to testify in legal settings. Based on the fundamental premise that children cannot provide accurate testimony about events that cannot be remembered, this investigation focused on 3‐ and 6‐year‐olds' memory of a salient, personally experienced event. The event selected was that of a visit to the doctor for a physical examination. Children at both ages remembered most of the features of the check‐up at an immediate memory test, although the older children performed somewhat better than younger children. In addition, the performance of the 3‐year‐olds decreased over delay intervals of 1 and 3 weeks, whereas that of the 6‐year‐olds remained constant over this period. Moreover, at all assessment points the older children provided more information in response to open‐ended general questions than did the younger children. Both groups of children were quite good at giving accurate responses to misleading questions, although the 3‐year‐olds performed below the level of 6‐year‐olds. The need for further controlled studies of children's memory capabilities is discussed.