Effects of Cognitive Interviewing and Practice on Children's Recall Performance

• NCJ Number: 157010
• Author(s): G K Bornstein, R E Geiselman, K J Saywitz
• Date Published: January 1992
• Length: 13 pages
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored

Annotation

This article presents data obtained from two experiments to determine the effects of cognitive interviewing and practice on children's recall performance.

Abstract

In the first experiment a staged event was carried out that involved a private encounter between an unfamiliar man and two children. Results showed that questioning techniques based on principles from cognitive psychology significantly increased the number of correct facts recalled by both 7- to 8-year-olds and 10- to 11-year-olds over that gained with standard interview procedures and without affecting the number of incorrect items generated. These results were replicated in the second experiment with a different staged event and with 8-to 9-year-olds and 11- to 12-year-olds. The second experiment also assessed the impact of a prior practice cognitive interview, and practice was found to be effective for both age groups. Tables, references, appendixes