I know something I won’t tell. A longitudinal investigation of children’s ability to withhold information in an adapted RT-CIT paradigm

Citation

Millen A, Lee A, Prodan N, Visu-Petra L & Buta M (2026) I know something I won’t tell. A longitudinal investigation of children’s ability to withhold information in an adapted RT-CIT paradigm. Applied Cognitive Psychology.

Abstract
Previous research indicated the possibility of adapting the Reaction Time-based Concealed Information Test (RT-CIT) to identify concealed information in young children (7-10 years). The current investigation explored the longitudinal reliability of this novel RT-CIT paradigm with 194 school-age children (8-12 years) at two time points during which they concealed information for personal and prosocial reasons. Crucially, we further investigated the RT-CIT’s interrelations with baseline cognitive (processing speed, short-term memory), executive (verbal and visuospatial working memory, inhibition, and shifting), and emotional processes (anxiety, depression). Results showed a reliable RT-CIT effect at both time points, confirming that the RT-CIT is a relatively reliable tool for detecting concealed information throughout middle childhood. The RT-CIT effect was unaffected by cognitive or emotional correlates, suggesting that the RT-CIT was not vulnerable to individual differences in this sample. Practical implications for re-administering the CIT to knowledgeable children are discussed.

Journal
Applied Cognitive Psychology