Retrieval of Episodic versus Generic Information: Does the Order of Recall Affect the Amount and Accuracy of Details Reported by Children about Repeated Events?

• Published in: Developmental psychology Vol. 48; no. 1; pp. 111 - 122
• Main Authors: Brubacher, Sonja P, Roberts, Kim P, Powell, Martine
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Psychological Association 01.01.2012
• Subjects: Age Differences; Age Factors; Analysis of Variance; Chi-Square Distribution; Child; Child Development; Child Language; Child Psychology; Child, Preschool; Children; Female; Humans; Interaction; Language; Male; Mathematical Models; Memory, Episodic; Mental Recall - physiology; Neuropsychological Tests; Prediction; Psychology, Child; Questioning Techniques; Recall (Psychology); Regression (Statistics); Sample Size; Theories; Time Factors; Validity
• ISSN: 0012-1649; 1939-0599
• DOI: 10.1037/a0025864

Children (N = 157) 4 to 8 years old participated 1 time (single) or 4 times (repeated) in an interactive event. Across each condition, half were questioned a week later about the only or a specific occurrence of the event ("depth first") and then about what usually happens. Half were prompted in the reverse order ("breadth first"). Children with repeated experience who first were asked about what usually happens reported more event-related information overall than those asked about an occurrence first. All children used episodic language when describing an occurrence; however, children with repeated-event experience used episodic language less often when describing what usually happens than did those with a single experience. Accuracy rates did not differ between conditions. Implications for theories of repeated-event memory are discussed. (Contains 3 figures, 1 footnote and 2 tables.)