Does Emotion Talk and Emotion Knowledge Effect Children's Recall of a Staged Event?

The current study compared children's memory for information accompanied by emotional or non-emotional talk, and also investigated the utility of emotion knowledge in prediction of recall. Seventy-five children aged 5-6 years participated in a staged event that involved visiting separate stations containing connected, causal information of an emotional or non-emotional theme. Children were assessed with a memory interview one week later. Children reported significantly more correct information from stations with an emotional focus. Children's emotion knowledge did not predict recall, however. Results show children better recall emotion-related information even when causality and connectedness is controlled for. Implications of the finding are discussed.