Suggestibility under pressure: Theory of mind, executive function, and suggestibility in preschoolers

Eighty preschoolers, ages 3 to 5 years old, completed a 4-phase study in which they experienced a live event and received a pressured, suggestive interview about the event a week later. Children were also administered batteries of theory of mind and executive function tasks, as well as the Video Suggestibility Scale for Children (VSSC), which assesses children's assents to misleading questions (Yield), changes in responses when given mild negative feedback (Shift), and their final number of assents after feedback (Yield 2). The results showed that, controlling for age, children with better executive function were overall less suggestible in the pressured suggestive interview. On the VSSC, executive function was only related to Yield 2 in younger children. When interviewers provided specific negative feedback to older children about their responses, children with more developed theory of mind were less suggestible. Children with executive function deficits may be especially vulnerable to interviewer pressure.