INCIDENTAL RECALL OF COLOR INFORMATION BY CHILDREN AND ADULTS

The ability to recall colours that have only been experienced incident ally (i.e. without deliberately being learnt) is an important aspect o f eyewitness recall. However, little is known about the accuracy of ad ults' or children's incidental recall of colours, and the results from previous studies of incidental colour memory have been contradictory- some have found that participants have very good recall for colours, o ther studies have found very poor recall for colours. Previous studies have not compared adults' and children's performance in the same expe riment. This experiment tested 4-year-olds, 6-year-olds, 9-year-olds a nd adults who were shown a model room, containing six pieces of furnit ure. While participants were watching, a different miniature item was placed on each of the pieces of furniture in the model room. There wer e six items and each had a different colour. After a delay of 30 minut es participants were given a surprise memory test to assess their reca ll for the colour and location of the items. All the age groups were v ery accurate at recalling both the items' colours and their locations. The implications of accurate incidental colour recall for eyewitness performance are discussed.