A multiprocess account of hindsight bias in children

Dev Psychol. 2010 Sep;46(5):1268-82. doi: 10.1037/a0020209.

Abstract

In hindsight, that is, after receiving the correct answers to difficult questions, people's recall of their own prior answers tends to be biased toward the correct answers. We tested 139 participants from 3 age groups (9- and 12-year-olds and adults) in a hindsight-bias paradigm and found that all groups showed hindsight bias. Multinomial model-based analyses indicated that all age groups used the correct answers to reconstruct their original answers. In addition, the youngest group showed memory impairment caused by the presentation of the correct answers as well as an increased belief that they knew the correct answers all along. These results support a multiprocess explanation of hindsight bias in children.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Age Factors
  • Bias*
  • Child
  • Factor Analysis, Statistical
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Judgment / physiology*
  • Knowledge of Results, Psychological*
  • Male
  • Mental Recall / physiology
  • Models, Psychological*
  • Photic Stimulation
  • Psychological Tests
  • Psychology, Child*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Young Adult