The effects of a computerised interview on children's recall of an event

The usefulness of an interactive computer program in eliciting children's reports about an event was examined. Fifty-nine 5- to 6-year-old and fifty-two 7- to 8-year old children participated in an event with their regular class teacher, which involved several activities and a mildly negative secret. Four days later, the children were interviewed individually in one of three interview conditions; computer program alone, computer program with adult assistant present and standard verbal interview format. The computer program incorporated animation and audio whereby an animated figure asked the questions and the child was required to provide a verbal response. Results revealed that the children were just as willing to recount details of the event to the computer, compared to the standard interviewer; there was no effect of interview condition on the number of words and event features recalled, and on children's willingness to disclose the secret. However, the children favoured the computer interview format; they were more willing to revise their answers to the computer than to the adult interviewer. The implications of these findings and possible directions for future research are discussed.