"I saw it with my own ears": the effects of peer conversations on preschoolers' reports of nonexperienced events.

Full Abstract

The study was designed to explore the effects of naturally occurring peer interactions and repeated suggestive interviews on preschoolers' (N=96, Meanage=54 months) memories for a personally experienced event, namely a staged archaeological dig. During the dig, one third of the children witnessed two "target" activities. A second third of the children were the classmates of those in the first group, but did not witness the target activities. The remaining children were not the classmates of those who witnessed the target activities, nor did they witness the target activities themselves, and thus served to provide a baseline against which to assess the effects of peer contact. Following the dig, the children were interviewed in either a neutral or suggestive manner on three occasions. Results from a fourth interview by a new examiner revealed that the combination of suggestive interviews and peer exposure led to claims of witnessing the target activities by the classmate group that were comparable to the children who actually did witness these activities. Further, assent rates to misleading questions employing peer pressure and false claims of actually seeing versus merely hearing about the target activities were elevated following opportunities to discuss these activities with peers.

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Author information

Author/s: Principe, Gabrielle F (GF); Ceci, Stephen J (SJ);

Affiliation: Department of Human Development, Cornell University, USA. gprincipe(-atsign-)ursinus.edu

Grants: F32 MH12619 (Agency:United States NIMH)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Journal: Journal of experimental child psychology (J Exp Child Psychol), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-Sep; vol 83 (issue 1) : pp 1-25

Dates: Created 2002/10/15; Completed 2003/04/30; Revised 2007/11/15;

PMID: 12379416, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Interviews as Topic
Male
Memory - physiology
Peer Group
Suggestion
Verbal Behavior - physiology

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