Psychiatry and Psychology Commons^™

The Consistency Of False Suggestions Moderates Children’S Reports Of A Single Instance Of A Repeated Event: Predicting Increases And Decreases In Suggestibility, Kim Roberts, Martine B. Powell

Psychology Faculty Publications

Six- to 7-year-olds (N = 130) participated in classroom activities four times. The children were interviewed about the final occurrence (target event) either a week or a month later, during which half of the event items were inaccurately described. Half of these suggestions were consistent with the theme of the detail across the occurrences (e.g., always sat on a kind of floor mat) or were inconsistent (e.g., sat on a chair). When memory for the target event was tested a day later, children falsely recognized fewer inconsistent than consistent suggestions, especially compared to a control group of children who …