Effects of executive functioning on false memory in children

Misremembering is a common phenomenon in normal human development that has great potential to become problematic, especially in legal situations. The Deese/Roediger--McDermott (DRM; Deese, 1959; Roediger & McDermott, 1995) model has been commonly used in the literature to uncover mechanisms for why these false memories may occur. Children have only recently begun to be investigated using this paradigm. Some related mechanisms in children for false recollection that have yet to be investigated are child executive functioning and socioeconomic status. In the current study, executive functioning was investigated as a potential mechanism for false recollections using a DRM paradigm. Children completed a brief assessment of intelligence followed by assessments of executive functioning. Participants then engaged in the DRM recall and recognition task. Finally, they completed a semantic knowledge task. Results indicated that specific aspects of executive functioning (inhibition and cognitive flexibility) predicted false memory production at both recall and recognition. Additionally, maternal education and gross family income had predictive value at recall and recognition. However, a mediational model was not supported. These results help explain mechanisms for false memory and can provide valuable information regarding susceptibility to false memory production