Variations on a technique: enhancing children's recall using narrative elaboration training

Abstract

The current study examined first, whether the positive effects demonstrated by the Narrative Elaboration Technique (NET) could be further enhanced when coupled with mental reinstatement of context (MR), prior to interview, and second, compared the efficacy of the NET at a two-week delay and a nine-month delay. In Study 1, 47 children took part as a class in a staged event about safety. Two weeks later they received a single training session, and the following day were interviewed with either the NET (n ¼ 16), NET þ MR (n ¼ 17), or in a control condition (n ¼ 14). Children trained with the NET reported approximately twice as much correct information, and were more accurate, than a control group who did not receive NET training, although the combination of the NET þ MR did not result in a further significant enhancement of recall. In Study 2, 22 children took part in the safety event, and nine months later received a single training session, and were interviewed the following day with either the NET (n ¼ 11), or in a control condition (n ¼ 11). Children who received the NET training reported more correct information than those who did not. The practical applications of the NET and its variations are discussed.

Making the most of information‐gathering interviews with children

“…In analogue contexts, the NET appears to help children provide more complete and equivalently accurate event reports (e.g. Brown & Pipe, 2003a, 2003bDorado & Saywitz, 2001). Further, Camparo, Wagner, and Saywitz (2001) reported that children trained and interviewed using the NET were not disproportionately likely to talk about a fictitious event although some children attempted to describe this non-event during prompted recall or specific questioning when their initial denials of the event were ignored.…”

“…Interestingly, several researchers have shown that the gains associated with the NET can be obtained simply by providing verbal prompts for the same categories of information cued using the NET cue cards, without training in how to talk about the past (Bowen & Howie, 2002;Brown & Pipe, 2003a, 2003bElischberger & Roebers, 2001). In other words, simply asking children to report what they saw and heard (Poole & Lindsay, 1995) or to talk about different categories of information (Quas et al, 2000) can produce increases in the amounts of information reported.…”

“…In other words, simply asking children to report what they saw and heard (Poole & Lindsay, 1995) or to talk about different categories of information (Quas et al, 2000) can produce increases in the amounts of information reported. Variance in performance has been a feature of all studies using the NET, furthermore, suggesting that some children benefit from the technique more than others do (see Brown & Pipe, 2003a, 2003b, and in all of the studies examining the NET children were interviewed about neutral or fun experiences and were unlikely to be reluctant participants in the interview. The NET has not been explored in forensic settings where the timing of the cues relative to the disclosure of relevant information might influence the cues' suggestiveness and thus their suitability and where there not may be time to incorporate pre-interview training sessions like those included in the NET.…”

The effect of question repetition within interviews on young children’s eyewitness recall

“…Adults may inadvertently or deliberately inXuence the responses given by children through their questioning techniques. Many researchers have outlined the eVect of explicit suggestive techniques, such as the use of leading questions, the number of interviews, and the use of props, as well as the best ways in which to obtain accurate recall (Alexander et al, 2002;Brown & Pipe, 2003;Coxon & Valentine, 1997). But there are also other factors that can inXuence children's responses in interviews, including the eVects of repeated questioning.…”

Low‐SES Children's Eyewitness Memory: The Effects of Verbal Labels and Vocabulary Skills

“…We focused on preschoolers because, compared with older children, younger children are more vulnerable to maltreatment (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2013) and tend to provide less complete memory reports (Pipe et al, 2004). As alluded to earlier, with only a few exceptions (Dorado & Saywitz, 2001;Kulkofsky, 2010), most previous studies have tested the effects of the NET or the verbal labels procedure with school-aged children (e.g., Brown & Pipe, 2003a,2003bCamparo et al, 2001;. The present study aimed to extend evidence of the generalizability of the verbal labels procedure with 3-to 5-year-olds, with the prediction that it would facilitate the completeness and accuracy of young children's event memory.…”