Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 2006, 47, 485–495 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9450.2006.00542.x © 2006 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2006 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA. ISSN 0036-5564. Blackwell Publishing Ltd Development and Aging Relations between episodic memory, suggestibility, theory of mind, and cognitive inhibition in the preschool child ANNIKA MELINDER, TOR ENDESTAD and SVEIN MAGNUSSEN University of Oslo, Norway Melinder, A., Endestad, T. & Magnussen, S. (2006). Relations between episodic memory, suggestibility, theory of mind, and cognitive inhibition in the preschool child. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 47, 485–495. The development of episodic memory, its relation to theory of mind (ToM), executive functions (e.g., cognitive inhibition), and to suggestibility was studied. Children (n = 115) between 3 and 6 years of age saw two versions of a video film and were tested for their memory of critical elements of the videos. Results indicated similar developmental trends for all memory measures, ToM, and inhibition, but ToM and inhibition were not associated with any memory measures. Correlations involving source memory was found in relation to specific questions, whereas inhibition and ToM were significantly correlated to resistance to suggestions. A regression analysis showed that age was the main contributor to resistance to suggestions, to correct source monitoring, and to correct responses to specific questions. Inhibition was also a significant main predictor of resistance to suggestive questions, whereas the relative contribution of ToM was wiped out when an extended model was tested. Key words: Episodic memory, theory of mind, cognitive inhibition, suggestibility, executive functions, forensic context. Annika Melinder, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, 0317, Oslo, Norway. E-mail: a.m.d.melinder@psykologi.uio.no INTRODUCTION Episodic 1 memory refers to the explicit memory of an event that took place at a specific time and place in the individual’s own personal history. According to Tulving (2002), episodic memory is not present before about 4 years of age, but other researchers believe that episodic memory is present, but less accessible for testing earlier in life (Bauer, 1996; Bauer & Wewerka, 1995; Howe & Courage, 1993, 1997). Episodic memory includes an “autonoetic” kind of consciousness that allows us to be aware of the subjective time when an event took place (Naito, 2003; Tulving, 2002). This autonoetic aspect of episodic memory has been related to a person’s sense of self, which with reference to memory is termed “the cognitive self” (Howe & Courage, 1993, 1997). The emergence of a cognitive self around the age of two makes possible the early organization of infor- mation and experiences into an episodic memory form. Although episodic memory allows the individual to consciously re- experience past experiences, it does not always succeed in tracking the memory accurately back to the situation, con- text, or source in which the event to be remembered took place. The quantity and quality of episodic memory performances are age dependent; young children report fewer memories than older children and adults in free and cued recall (Baker-Ward, Ornstein, Gordon, Follmer & Clubb, 1995; Bruck & Ceci, 2004; Goodman & Melinder, in press; Poole & Lindsay, 1995), and their memories are more susceptible to suggestive post-event information such as misinformation, repeated questioning, and the use of props (Ackil & Zaragosa, 1995; Cassel & Bjorklund, 1995; Ceci & Bruck, 1995; Priestley & Pipe, 1997; Salmon & Pipe, 2000; Schacter, 2001; but see Finnilæ, Mahlberga, Santtilaa & Niemb, 2003). We here use the term suggestibility to refer to the incorporation of incorrect post-event information into a memory report, which might result in inaccurate or even false memories of an event (Ceci & Bruck, 1995). Despite a general consensus regarding the relation between age, memory and suggestibility, some authors suggest that memory performance is only partly explained by age (Poole & Lindsay, 2001), and that children who do remember their former experiences actually make memory errors (Powell & Roberts, 2002). Young children’s failure to resist suggestive information has been related to immature internal control mechanisms (Bruck, Ceci & Melnyk, 1997; Harnishfeger, 1995), and several studies have looked at the relationships between suggestibility and executive functions such as inhibitory con- trol (Roberts & Powell, 2005; Ruffman, Rustin, Garnham & Parkin, 2001), and theory of mind (Scullin & Bonner, 2006; Welch-Ross, Diecidue & Miller, 1997). However, no single study has looked at executive functions and ToM in relation to suggestibility and episodic memory in a wider range of preschool aged children. In addition, most of the studies designed in context of the children-as-eye-witnesses research have tested North American samples; no Scandinavian study has mapped the general socio-cognitive development in relation to memory and suggestibility. Although Anglo-Saxon cultures are quite similar, there are factors that may vary between the cultures and affect the developmental trajectories of cognitive functions. Episodic memory development There are several factors that might contribute to the fragility of episodic memory and the greater suggestibility of young