How quickly do children forget events? A systematic study of children's event reports as a function of delay

• Published in: Applied cognitive psychology Vol. 16; no. 7; pp. 755 - 768
• Main Authors: Jones, Carolyn H., Pipe, Margaret-Ellen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01-11-2002; Wiley
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child development; Delay; Developmental psychology; Forgetting; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Personal experiences; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Recall; Young children; Human; Preschool age; Short term; Forgetting; Free recall; Memory; Cognition; Experimental study; Long term; Cued recall; Retention interval; School age; Cognitive development; Child; Episodic memory
• ISSN: 0888-4080; 1099-0720
• DOI: 10.1002/acp.826

Sixty‐six children aged between 5 and 7 years participated in the event, ‘Visiting the Pirate’, and were interviewed about it at one of five delays, namely, no delay (immediate interview), or at a 1‐week, 1‐day, 1‐month or 6‐month delay. For open‐ended recall, a significant decrease in the amount of information reported was detected only at the 6‐month delay, although forgetting functions indicated forgetting was most rapid at the shorter delays. Accuracy of open‐ended recall was maintained over all delays. In contrast, in response to specific, leading and misleading questions, accuracy had decreased significantly by the 6‐month delay. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings regarding the effects of delays on children's event reports are discussed. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.