兒童認知能力與記憶暗示性發展之關聯性

Abstract

過去研究指出兒童心智理論、執行功能與敘說能力，皆可能影響兒童之記憶暗示性，但缺乏兒童高階心智理論發展與記憶暗示性關聯探究。本研究的目的在於檢視從學前到學齡的記憶暗示發展趨勢，以及檢視這項趨勢有關的因素，例如，心智理論、執行功能和口語敘說能力。本研究的作業包含：記憶暗示性作業、心智理論（初階和高階心智理論作業）、執行功能中的衝動抑制與空間工作記憶，以及兒童敘說；並以32位4至5歲學前兒童（平均年齡 = 4.99歲）32位8至9歲學齡兒童（平均年齡 = 8.93歲）為研究對象，探究兒童記憶暗示性的發展趨勢，以及記憶暗示性與認知能力之間的關聯。研究發現有四：（一）學前兒童相對於學齡兒童，更容易受記憶暗示影響。(二)在記憶暗示類型上，學前兒童較容易被首次聽見的暗示性問題所影響；然而學齡兒童面對暗示性是非題之重複提問時，將正確答案改變為錯誤答案的比率比學前組高。（三）學前兒童的敘說能力，與回憶敘說內容中的正確資訊與錯誤資訊皆呈現正相關；而學齡兒童的敘說能力則與敘說內容中的正確資訊呈現正相關。（四）高階心智理論能力較佳之學前兒童面對記憶暗示問題時，較不受暗示線索所影響；而高階心智理論能力與敘說能力較佳之學齡兒童，較不受暗示線索所影響。研究結果呈現記憶受暗示的情況，隨年紀增加而降低。而且心智理論及敘說能力較佳的兒童，他們的回憶較不受暗示線索干擾。本研究除了展現記憶受暗示的發展趨勢及相關因素，也具有司法詢問兒童記憶的實務意涵。

Previous studies have investigated the relationships between children’s memory suggestibility and cognitive skills. Yet, the potential linkage between children’s suggestibility and social cognitive ability: advanced Theory of Mind remained unexplored. Our study employed various assessments to scrutinize the relationships between advanced Theory of Mind, other cognitive abilities, and suggestibility. The assessments include suggestibility tasks, Theory of Mind tasks (including both first-order and advanced Theory of Mind tasks), executive function tasks (including both inhibition and spatial working memory evaluations), and narrative assessments. The subjects of our study consisted of 32 preschool children aged 4 and 5 years (Mage = 4.99) and 32 school-aged children aged 8 and 9 years (Mage = 8.93). Our results support four principal findings: (1) overall, preschool children exhibited higher levels of suggestibility compared to school-aged children; (2) preschool children were more suggestible when facing suggestive questions for the first time, whereas school-aged children were more inclined to alter their responses from correct to incorrect answers when confronted with repeated questioning; (3) School-aged children with better narrative abilities tend to include more accurate information in their narrative; (4) Advanced Theory of Mind ability was correlated with resistance to suggestion in preschool children. On the other hand, both advanced Theory of Mind and narrative ability were correlated with school-aged children’s resistance to suggestion. The research findings demonstrate a general trend in that memory suggestibility decreases with increasing age. Furthermore, children with higher levels of Theory of Mind and narrative abilities are less suggestible. This study reveals the developmental trends and cognitive factors related to memory suggestibility, which holds practical implications for forensic interviewing of children's memories.