Abstract
The present study investigated whether children would exhibit the weapon focus effect that has been demonstrated with adult eyewitnesses. Participants (4- and 5-year-olds, 7- and 8-year-olds, and adults) watched a videotape in which a target individual portraying one of two schema roles and holding either a weapon or a neutral object steals some money. Witnesses of all ages described the target's physical appearance less accurately if the target held an object that was inconsistent rather than consistent with his schema role. Additionally, there were age effects for both accuracy and amount of information reported. The results indicate that the weapon focus effect generalizes to child witnesses and that it probably occurs because weapons are inconsistent with an activated schema.
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