The development of metasuggestibility in children |
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| Authors: | Kamala London Maggie Bruck Debra Ann Poole Laura Melnyk |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, USA;2. Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA;3. Department of Psychology, Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, MI, USA;4. Department of Psychology, King's University College at the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada |
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| Abstract: | One component of metasuggestibility is the understanding that a person's statements can influence another person's reports. The purpose of the present study was to examine the development of this understanding in school‐aged children. We produced a short video in which a boy makes a false allegation about being hit following an adult's suggestive interview. Children aged 6–13 years (N = 196) watched the video and answered open‐ended and forced‐choice questions about why the boy made a false allegation. The 6‐ and 7‐year‐olds performed poorly on all question types, whereas the 12‐ and 13‐year‐olds were at ceiling. There were developmental increases in metasuggestibility between 8 and 11 years. Our findings indicate that metasuggestibility undergoes prolonged development well into the school years. Implications for child witness training programs are discussed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
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