| Abstract: | Because errors in recall are an important contributor to assessments of children's credibility as witnesses, the author explored children's errors when recounting details of trauma injuries that resulted in hospital Emergency Room treatment. 37 preschool aged children (aged 2–5 yrs) and 11 9-yr-olds (comparison Ss) were recruited in the emergency room and interviewed at home both within a few days of the injury and after 6 mo. Adult witnesses were also interviewed to corroborate children's accounts. Although 2-yr-old Ss made more errors than did older children, the information provided was accurate, even 6 mo after their injuries. The errors were not random; rather, information that was likely to be important in real-world cases was retained quite accurately, while some other categories of information (e.g., the 1st person to respond to their injury) were more error-prone. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
