The Counterintuitive Course of False Memory Development During Childhood

In this chapter, we outline how it is that children can be both more and less susceptible to memory illusions. We do this by demonstrating that false memory rates are directly related to the content and structure of children’s knowledge base. This is true for both exogenous (e.g., suggestibility) and endogenous (e.g., spontaneous) forms of false memories. Along the way, we elucidate the role of event plausibility, context-enhanced modes of presentation, source monitoring, and emotion. We show that negative information, plausible or implausible, is often easier to implant in children’s memories than neutral information. But perhaps most importantly, we show that the default assumption that children, particularly younger ones, are more susceptible to memory illusions than older children and adults is itself false. Indeed, as with many conclusions based on psychological science, whether children are more or less susceptible to false memories depends on the circumstances in which these memory illusions arise.