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Chapter 9 - Everyday Conversations as a Source of False Memories in Children

Implications for the Testimony of Young Witnesses

from Part III - Children’s Event Memory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 May 2021

Lynne E. Baker-Ward
Affiliation:
North Carolina State University
David F. Bjorklund
Affiliation:
Florida Atlantic University
Jennifer L. Coffman
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina, Greensboro
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Summary

Research on factors that can affect the accuracy of children’s autobiographical remembering has important implications for understanding the abilities of young witnesses to provide legal testimony. In this chapter, I review our own research inspired by Professor Ornstein’s information-processing framework for examining children’s memory. Specifically, I focus on one factor that has much potential to influence how children remember their experiences, namely everyday conversations with peers and parents. Our studies show not only that the content of natural conversations can shape children’s event memory but that such exchanges can prompt the generation of entirely false narratives that are more detailed than true accounts of experience. Further, our work demonstrates various factors that can boost the damaging effects of conversationally conveyed misinformation. Implications of this collection of findings for children’s testimony are discussed.

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Chapter
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The Development of Children's Memory
The Scientific Contributions of Peter A. Ornstein
, pp. 132 - 151
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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