Anxious and nonanxious children's recall of a repeated or unique event

J Exp Child Psychol. 2007 Oct;98(2):94-112. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2007.05.002. Epub 2007 Jun 26.

Abstract

The current study examined 4- and 5-year-olds' memory for an event that was experienced once or was the first in a sequence of four similar events. The event was private swimming lessons for beginners that, because of natural variation in fear of water, were experienced as stressful for some children and not stressful for others. Consistent with much previous research, there was evidence that repeat-event children remembered less than did single-event children. There was some evidence for a beneficial influence of stress on resistance to suggestions. No other effects of stress were found in either the single- or repeat-event children. Implications for the debate on the influence of stress on memory and for children's testimony are discussed.

Publication types

  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anxiety / diagnosis
  • Anxiety / psychology*
  • Attention*
  • Child, Preschool
  • Defense Mechanisms
  • Fear / psychology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mental Recall*
  • Personality Assessment
  • Repression, Psychology
  • Stress, Psychological / complications
  • Suggestion
  • Swimming / psychology
  • Temperament