Developmental differences in children's learning and use of forensic ground rules during an interview about an experienced event.

Children often answer questions when they do not have the requisite knowledge or when they do not understand them. We examined whether instruction-to say "I don't know," to tell the truth, and to correct the interviewer when necessary-assisted children in applying those rules during an interview about a past event and whether doing so was associated with more accurate accounts. We compared children with intellectual disabilities (mild or moderate severity, = 44, 7-12 years) with 3 groups of typically developing children (2 matched for mental age, and 1 for chronological age, = 55, 4-12 years) on their understanding of 3 ground rules, their use of these rules in an interview, and their accuracy in recalling a personally experienced event.