Does the use of dolls facilitate children's memory of visits to the doctor?

Abstract

Age differences in children's recall of salient experiences have frequently been documented, but these findings have routinely been based on studies in which verbal interviews have been employed. Because verbal interview protocols may underestimate the memory of young children, the purpose of this research was to compare the effectiveness of such an interview with two alternative protocols that involved the use of a doll. Using these contrasting protocols, 3-and 5-year-old children were asked to remember the details of a routine physical examination. Neither doll protocol facilitated 3-year-olds' recall of the features of the check-up. In contrast, 5-year-olds who were asked to demonstrate with a doll what happened in their examination showed enhanced recall. The inclusion of a doll had no effect on older or younger children's provision of elaborative detail about their visits to the doctor. Various measures of individual differences (e.g. temperament, language skill) predicted some aspects of the children's recall and elaboration. The findings are discussed in terms of the cognitive skills necessary for effective use of dolls in the assessment process, and are related to problems associated with interviewing young children who are involved in legal proceedings.Motivated by issues concerned with children's abilities to provide accurate testimony, a growing body of research examines young children's memory for salient, personally experienced events. Studies of children's memory for physical examinations and other medical procedures (see, e.g., Baker-Ward, Gordon, Ornstein, Larus, and Clubb, in press;Goodman, Aman, and Hirshman, 1987;Ornstein, Gordon, and Larus, 1992), for example, have consistently demonstrated age differences in recall, both immediately after the event and at delay intervals of various lengths. These findings, however, have been based largely upon the use of verbal interview procedures and, as a result, important questions remain about the interpretation of children's reports of their experiences. For example, should data be taken at face value as indicating that younger children do not remember as well as older children? Or, as some (e.g. Mandler, 1991) would suggest, do the findings have more to do with linguistic and narrative skills than with memory? That is, is it possible that there are minimal (or no) age differences in remembering, and that the performance of young children reflects their difficulties in providing complete accounts of their experiences, perhaps because of the linguistic demands of the typical verbal interview?

Developmental Perspectives on Morningness-Eveningness and Social Interactions

“…Salient, highly distinguishable dimensions of self in relation to others in social functioning which endure over a period of years should not be as susceptible to distortion as more general dimensions of personality. Support for this proposition is found in the literature on the accuracy of retrospective memory in longitudinal assessments of shyness/outgoingness in the formation of social interchanges [e.g., Gordon et al, 1993;Yarrow et al, 1970] and in timing of puberty and physical maturation in relation to peers [see review by Stattin and Magnusson, 1990;Halpern et al, 1998]. Individual differences in Morningness-Eveningness, like shyness/outgoingness and early/late pubertal timing, appear to be salient, highly visible aspects of self in relation to others, 7 Since the MEQ had not previously been administered in a Southwestern setting, we included a 7-day rising/ sleep/meal log to validate the instrument.…”

Making the most of information‐gathering interviews with children

“…Although these techniques enhance the amount of information retrieved, at least under some conditions (see Salmon, 2001, for a review), interviewers seldom know which props might be relevant, and need to avoid introducing props at times which would make them suggestive. In addition, analogue studies show that, when children interact with the prop items, showing as well as telling, accuracy decreases markedly, and that the effects on accuracy are even greater when young children are shown toys and models (Gordon et al, 1993;Salmon, 2001;Salmon, Bidrose, & Pipe, 1995;Salmon & Pipe, 1997;Steward & Steward, 1996;Thierry, Lamb, Orbach, & Pipe, 2005), presumably because young children are more vulnerable to suggestion and are less capable of representing their experiences using objects (DeLoache, 1995).…”

The Use of the NICHD Protocol to Enhance the Quantity of Details Obtained from Children with Low Verbal Abilities in Investigative Interviews: A Pilot Study

“…In these studies, the vocabulary subtest of the Wechsler scales seems to be most related to children's recall (in Chae Investigative Interviews and Ceci's study, vocabulary is combined with the similarity subtest). (b) Some evidence indicates that when evaluated with a measure of receptive language, verbal intelligence is not associated with recall performance (Burgwyn-Bailes, Baker-Ward, Gordon, & Ornstein, 2001;Gordon et al, 1993;Greenhoot, Ornstein, Gordon, & Baker-Ward, 1999;Gross & Hayne, 1999;Salmon, Price, & Pereira, 2002 (Chae & Ceci; Dion et al).…”