Gaining insight into long‐term effects of inviting speculation: Does recantation help?

The effects of speculation on delayed recall and on source monitoring (SM) as a recantation device were examined in first and fourth graders. Two weeks after a clown show, the speculation group recalled all actions and speculated on half. The control group recalled all actions without speculating. One month and 6 months later, all children recalled all actions. Half the children were given the opportunity to recant at 1 month and all children at 6 months. Even after 6 months, speculation negatively impacted recall. Only first‐graders' script‐consistent false responses increased with time. In the speculation group, 19% of previously given script‐consistent speculations were recanted after 1 month and 20% after 6 months. Older children were better at recanting than younger children. Although recantation via SM immediately after 6‐month recall had a positive effect, SM at 1 month had no prospective effect on 6‐month recall. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.