ABSTRACT
Stress or arousal at the time of recall can be another important potential determinant of a subject's memory. It has been documented, for example, that emotion can produce state-dependent effects. The children were first asked to provide a free narrative of what had transpired when the confederate had entered the room, including a description of the confederate's appearance. The observed stress effects, when they occurred, negatively affected eyewitness memory for event details and facial recognition. In studying arousal and stress effects with children, a major problem is selecting the most appropriate measure of arousal. Some studies rely on self-reports, bystander reports made by parents or adult observers, behavioral rating scales, physiological recordings. In viewing scripted memory for children along with the want-attainment states perspective of N. L. Stein and J. Jewett and Stein, T. Trabasso, and M. Liwag, it may be possible to explain some of the individual differences in the literature on stress and children's memory.
