Differences in Young Children's Performance on Sequencing Questions When Asked About Descriptions Versus Their Experience

Children's understanding of the temporal terms “first,” “before,” and “after” has implications for describing experienced events, but has typically been studied by asking them to interpret described events. In this study, one hundred and one 3- to 6-year-olds completed two tasks. In the description task, children heard sequences described using temporal terms in forward (X before Y/after X, Y) or backward order (before Y, X/Y after X) and were asked what happened “first.” Children exhibited an order of mention bias, performing better in forward order, with no difference on “before” and “after.” In the experience task, children observed sequences and answered questions using temporal terms, with “before” and “after” asked both in forward (what happened before X?/after X, what happened?) and backward order (before X, what happened?/what happened after X?). Order made no difference. Children exhibited a forward order bias, performing better on “after” than “before,” and younger children performed best on “first.”