Children’s conversational memory regarding a minor transgression and a subsequent interview

dc.contributor.authorStolzenberg, S. N., McWilliams, K., & Lyon, T. D.
dc.date.accessioned2018-05-16T16:33:16Z
dc.date.available2018-05-16T16:33:16Z
dc.date.issued2018
dc.description.abstractChildren’s memories for their conversations are commonly explored in child abuse cases. In two studies, we examined conversational recall in 154 4- to 9-year-old children’s reports of an interaction with a stranger, some of whom were complicit in a transgression and were admonished to keep it a secret. Immediately afterwards, all children were interviewed about their interaction. One week later, children were asked recall questions about their interaction with the stranger, their conversations with the stranger, and their conversations with the interviewer. Overall, interaction recall questions elicited few details about children’s conversations, whereas conversation recall questions were effective in doing so. Accuracy was high in response to both the interaction and conversation recall questions, with no differences observed. Questions explicitly inquiring about coaching elicited higher error rates, as well as apparent attempts to maintain secrecy. Source errors were rare. Conversation recall questions elicited new transgression disclosures among a substantial percentage of children. The results provide tentative support for the use of recall questions in eliciting conversational information from children.en_US
dc.identifier.citationStolzenberg, S. N., McWilliams, K., & Lyon, T. D. (2018). Children’s conversational memory regarding a minor transgression and a subsequent interview. Psychology, Public Policy, & Law. Online ahead of print.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://works.bepress.com/thomaslyon/149/
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11212/3825
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherPsychology, Public Policy, & Lawen_US
dc.subjectchild abuseen_US
dc.subjectneglecten_US
dc.subjectchild testimonyen_US
dc.subjectchild witnessen_US
dc.subjectchildren's memoryen_US
dc.titleChildren’s conversational memory regarding a minor transgression and a subsequent interviewen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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