title: Gating Out Misinformation: Can Young Children Follow Instructions to Ignore False Information?
abstract: The current study investigated the effects of misinformation on children's memory reports after practice with the logic-of-opposition instruction at time of test. Four- and 6-year-old children participated in a play event in Session 1. During a two-week delay, parents presented their children with either misinformation or correct information about the play event. Prior to a memory interview in Session 2, some misled children were given a developmentally appropriate logic-of-opposition instruction to not report information provided by their parents. Results indicated that children were misled by the incorrect information, but that the logic-of-opposition instruction aided in the children's retrieval of the original memory, particularly for the 6-year-olds. Implications of the results for memory malleability and social demand effects in children are discussed.
authors: Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
authors: Jennifer M
authors: JM
authors: Schaaf
authors: Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
authors: Daniel
authors: D
authors: Bederian-Gardner
authors: Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
authors: Gail S
authors: GS
authors: Goodman
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003142:Communication; D003416:Criminal Law; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008128:Logic; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010988:Play and Playthings; D013404:Suggestion