PRESCHOOLERS REPORT MISINFORMATION DESPITE ACCURATE MEMORY

A model of long-term retention was used to eliminate problems in past studies regarding the effects postevent misinformation has on preschoo lers' testimony and memory. Half of the 216 preschoolers received a si ngle slide presentation and the remaining half received consecutive pr esentations until they learned the material to criterion. Children eit her did not receive postevent information or received either correct o r misleading information, presented in narrative or questionnaire form , concerning event details 3 weeks after acquisition. Four weeks after acquisition, all of the children received 4 test trials without furth er study opportunity. When initial learning was controlled and appropr iate measurement techniques were in place, exposure to misleading info rmation encouraged preschoolers to report misinformation. However, the memory-impairing effects of misleading information on original memory were rare.