Memory Suggestibility under Social Pressure and Inhibitory Control in Preschoolers

Abstract

The current study examined the interaction of inhibitory control and social pressure on young children’s memory suggestibility. Children were administered the Video Memory Suggestibility Scale for Children (VMSSC) and batteries of inhibitory control tasks, and were exposed to different levels of situational social pressures during interviews for memory suggestibility. The findings indicated that inhibitory control played a significantly moderating role in the relationship between social pressure and memory suggestibility. The greater the inhibitory control, the lower the effects of social pressure on the memory suggestibility of children. For the children with lower levels of inhibitory control, the social pressure positively predicted memory suggestibility; but for the children with higher levels of inhibitory control, the social pressure didn’t significantly predict memory suggestibility. So, to a certain extent, memory suggestibility may be a dynamic integration of stable trait and fluctuating state elements. The implications for the essence of memory suggestibility were discussed.