1Chapter 8 - Children’s Memory for Instances of Repeated Events

Summary

Child witnesses and victims who provide evidence in the justice system have often experienced repeated, similar events. In some jurisdictions, these children will be asked to recount a single instance from the series. In this chapter, we review the extant research on children’s ability to recall an instance of a repeated event. We discuss the legal context, theoretical approaches, experimental paradigms, and typical response profiles of children recalling an instance of a repeated event. We conclude with a discussion of the implications for child victims and witnesses, as well as a call for much needed further experimental exploration.