How quickly do children forget events? A systematic study of children's event reports as a function of delay

Abstract

Sixty-six children aged between 5 and 7 years participated in the event, 'Visiting the Pirate', and were interviewed about it at one of five delays, namely, no delay (immediate interview), or at a 1-week, 1-day, 1-month or 6-month delay. For open-ended recall, a significant decrease in the amount of information reported was detected only at the 6-month delay, although forgetting functions indicated forgetting was most rapid at the shorter delays. Accuracy of open-ended recall was maintained over all delays. In contrast, in response to specific, leading and misleading questions, accuracy had decreased significantly by the 6-month delay. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings regarding the effects of delays on children's event reports are discussed. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.