Gabrielle F. Principe

Believing Is Seeing How Rumors Can Engender False Memories in Preschoolers

This study examined how an erroneous rumor circulated among preschoolers can influence their memory. One fourth of the children overheard a rumor from an adult conversation in which it was alleged that an event the children had not experienced themselves had occurred. A second fourth were the classmates of those who overheard the rumor. A third group had no exposure to the rumor. The remaining children actually experienced the event suggested by the rumor. One week later, the children were interviewed in either a neutral or a suggestive manner. Results from a second interview after a 2-week delay revealed that under both interview conditions, children who overheard the rumor, either from the adult conversation or during naturally occurring interactions with classmates, were as likely to report experiencing the rumored but nonexperienced event as were those who actually experienced it. Most reports of the rumored but nonexperienced event were in childrens free recall and were accompanied by high levels of fictitious elaboration.

Seeing Things Unseen: Fantasy Beliefs and False Reports.

Whereas past research has demonstrated that childrens beliefs about the real world can influence their memory for events, the role of fantasy beliefs in childrens recall remains largely unexplored. We examine this topic in 5- and 6-year-olds by focusing on how belief in a familiar fantasy figure, namely the Tooth Fairy, is related to childrens memory for their most recent primary tooth loss. Although children who fully believed in the reality of the Tooth Fairy provided more voluminous and complex accounts than those with less strong beliefs, they also provided the most fictitious reports, frequently characterized by claims of hearing or seeing the Tooth Fairy. Belief in the Tooth Fairy did not affect the accuracy of childrens reports of the mundane elements of their tooth loss, and many fantastic claims were linked to real events. Exposure to seemingly tangible evidence of the Tooth Fairys existence was associated with the provision of fantastic claims. This research was supported by a grant from Ursinus College. Portions of this research were presented at the meetings of the Cognitive Development Society, San Diego, CA, October 2005, and the Society for Research in Child Development, Boston, MA, April 2007.

False Rumors and True Belief: Memory Processes Underlying Children’s Errant Reports of Rumored Events

Previous research has shown that overhearing an errant rumor--either from an adult or from peers--about an earlier experience can lead children to make detailed false reports. This study investigates the extent to which such accounts are driven by changes in childrens memory representations or merely social demands that encourage the reporting of rumored information. This was accomplished by (a) using a warning manipulation that eliminated social pressures to report an earlier heard rumor and (b) examining the qualitative characteristics of childrens false narratives of a rumored-but-nonexperienced event. Findings indicated that overheard rumors can induce sensory and contextual characteristics in memory that can lead children to develop genuine false beliefs in seeing rumored-but-nonexperienced occurrences. Such constructive tendencies were especially likely among 3- and 4-year-olds (relative to 5- and 6-year-olds) and when rumors were picked up from peers during natural social interactions (relative to when they were planted by an adult).

Child testimony in custody cases: a review

Abstract The authors provide a brief historical review of judicial trends in child custody placement. In contrast to the start of the 19th century, by its end, courts took into consideration childrens best interests, maternal rights, and prevailing sex role ideologies. Statutory changes began to reflect similar concerns by the end of that century. Modern practices, relying on the best interests of the child standard, also include consistent consideration of childrens preferences in making custody determinations. An important factor in this context is the accuracy with which a child describes domestic relations, especially in contested cases with contradictory allegations by parents. Research dealing with childrens report accuracy and techniques to enhance it are reviewed, and a description of various practical considerations when questioning children is provided.

Child testimony in custody cases: A review

Abstract The authors provide a brief historical review of judicial trends in child custody placement. In contrast to the start of the 19th century, by its end, courts took into consideration childrens best interests, maternal rights, and prevailing sex role ideologies. Statutory changes began to reflect similar concerns by the end of that century. Modern practices, relying on the best interests of the child standard, also include consistent consideration of childrens preferences in making custody determinations. An important factor in this context is the accuracy with which a child describes domestic relations, especially in contested cases with contradictory allegations by parents. Research dealing with childrens report accuracy and techniques to enhance it are reviewed, and a description of various practical considerations when questioning children is provided.

Social Processes Affecting the Mnemonic Consequences of Rumors on Children’s Memory

This research examined whether the impact of overheard rumors on childrens memory for their experiences varies as a function of social processes. The results of two experiments revealed that the very same errant rumor had different consequences for childrens recollections depending on the degree and type of social interactions they had with peers after exposure to the rumor. In both experiments, 3- to 5-year-olds overheard a false rumor about a recently experienced event and then were interviewed about the event 1 week later. In Experiment 1, children were more likely to report experiencing rumored-but-nonoccurring information if they were allowed to interact naturally with peers following exposure to the rumor than if they were prevented from peer exchange. In Experiment 2, exposure to the rumor induced greater memory contamination if it was planted among familiar peers than if it was encountered among strangers.

Child Testimony in Custody Cases

Abstract The authors provide a brief historical review of judicial trends in child custody placement. In contrast to the start of the 19th century, by its end, courts took into consideration childrens best interests, maternal rights, and prevailing sex role ideologies. Statutory changes began to reflect similar concerns by the end of that century. Modern practices, relying on the best interests of the child standard, also include consistent consideration of childrens preferences in making custody determinations. An important factor in this context is the accuracy with which a child describes domestic relations, especially in contested cases with contradictory allegations by parents. Research dealing with childrens report accuracy and techniques to enhance it are reviewed, and a description of various practical considerations when questioning children is provided.