Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 25, 2026

Using a Classroom-Based Deese Roediger McDermott Paradigm to Assess the Effects of Imagery on False Memories
Published on: November 14, 2018
"It's magic!" The effects of presentation modality on children's event memory, suggestibility, and confidence
Claudia M Roebers1, Tim Gelhaar, Wolfgang Schneider
1Department of Psychology, University of Würzburg, 97070 Würzburg, Germany. roebers@psychologie.uni-wuerzburg.de
Abstract:
The current study investigated the influence of presentation modality (live, video, and slide show) on children's memory, suggestibility, recognition, and metamemorial monitoring processes. A total of 270 children in three age groups (5- and 6-year-olds, 7- and 8-year-olds, and 9- and 10-year-olds) watched a magic show and were questioned about it 1 week later. The live show yielded more correct answers to nonleading questions, higher resistance to misleading questions, and better recognition memory than did the video condition, which in turn resulted in better performance than did the slide show. Although presentation modality raised the general level of memory performance, the effects were equally strong in all age groups and did not affect memory phenomena such as the size of the misinformation effect and confidence judgments.
Related Concept Videos
Eyewitness Memory
One such error is memory distortion, which occurs because human memory does not function like a...
Confirmation Biases
Hindsight Biases
The Influence of Affect on Cognition
Social Facilitation
First Impression

