Effects of the timing of postevent information on preschoolers' memories of an event

Few researchers have investigated whether the timing of postevent informati on affects the accuracy of children's reports of events they have experienc ed. In this study, four-year-olds dressed up in costumes and had their phot ographs taken. An unfamiliar adult spoke to the children about the event ei ther a day (immediate condition) or a month (delayed condition) later, prov iding both accurate and misleading information about the staged event. When questioned five weeks after the event, children in a control group who had not received the review were more inaccurate answering focused questions t han children who had been reminded of the event. A review a while after the event but shortly before the interview increased the amount of details rec alled and this was not at the expense of accuracy. Misinformation was seldo m reported spontaneously, although children in all groups acquiesced to lea ding questions in line with the misleading suggestions. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.