Do You Really Remember It Happening or Do You Only Remember Being Asked About It Happening? Children's Source Monitoring in Forensic Contexts

Nowhere have concerns about children’s mnemonic capabilities and limitations been greater than in the legal arena. Concerns have focused primarily on whether children can be led to report false information and whether children can not only claim but actually believe the false information. When children come into contact with the legal system, they are most often questioned about alleged events that they personally experienced; events that involved some form of body contact, as in the case of sexual or physical abuse; and events for which physical evidence of the alleged wrongdoings is minimal (e.g., Goodman, Quas, Bulkley, & Shapiro, in press). In these situations, the words of a child can have great impact on the progression and outcome of a legal case. As such, it is imperative to ensure that the information children provide is as accurate and error free as possible.