‘Tell me about the time you remember the best’: the effect of a remember best prompt on adults’ reports of a repeated emotionally stressful event
In two experiments we investigated the effect of a ‘remember best’ prompt on recall of one instance of a repeated event. Adult female participants (N = 98 Experiment 1; N = 100 Experiment 2) engaged in imagined experiences of abusive relationship encounters on either one occasion (single group) or f...
| Authors: | ; ; |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2023
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| In: |
Psychology, crime & law
Year: 2023, Volume: 29, Issue: 4, Pages: 437-463 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Keywords: |
| Summary: | In two experiments we investigated the effect of a ‘remember best’ prompt on recall of one instance of a repeated event. Adult female participants (N = 98 Experiment 1; N = 100 Experiment 2) engaged in imagined experiences of abusive relationship encounters on either one occasion (single group) or four occasions (repeat-last and repeat-best groups). Participants then completed a memory assessment for the target instance. In the single and repeat-last groups, participants recalled a pre-determined target instance (i.e. last instance for repeat-last group), while the repeat-best group self-selected which instance to discuss (i.e. the time they ‘remember best’). In Experiment 1, repeat-best participants selected an instance based on when it occurred, while in Experiment 2, participants identified and uniquely labelled the instance remembered best. Experiment 1 results revealed that the ‘remember best’ prompt was not effective in enhancing accurate retrieval of one instance, while the ‘remember best’ prompt in Experiment 2 did appear to enhance retrieval when compared to the control groups. These findings suggest that accurate retrieval of one instance of a repeated event might depend on how memory is cued. The forensic implications of these findings for testimonies of repeated abuse (e.g. domestic abuse) are discussed. |
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| ISSN: | 1477-2744 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/1068316X.2022.2027945 |