Processing and rejection of novel items in childhood: event-related potential study of similar lures and novel foils.

The ability to correctly identify novel items improves during childhood. Failures to correctly identify novel items are most likely to occur when novel items are similar to previously encountered items (i.e., similar lures) than when they are distinct (i.e., novel foils). Age-related improvements in the correct rejection of novel items are important for children's learning and in applied settings, such as participation in legal proceedings (e.g., lineup identification). However, research has not assessed what processes support children's ability to reliably reject similar lures. The current study examined the rejection of similar lures and novel foils in thirty-eight 5- and 6-year-old children using behavioral and electrophysiological measures. Following a week delay, children were less proficient at rejecting similar lures than novel foils and elicited a larger amplitude Nc response (i.e., 350-500 ms) to similar lures. This finding, taken in conjunction with previous studies demonstrating the role of the Nc in attentional processes [see de Haan, M. (2007). Visual attention and recognition memory in infancy. In M. de Haan (Ed.), Infant EEG and event-related potentials (pp. 101-144). New York, NY: Psychology Press], suggests that children allocate greater attention toward similar lures, compared to novel foils, when accurately rejecting them.