The Accuracy of Undergraduate Memory of the Columbine School Shooting

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We administered a questionnaire to University of San Diego students and prompted participants to describe any memories they had regarding the 'Columbine School Shooting.' Subsequent questions probed for the recognition memory of the participants. We collected demographic information, political affiliation tendencies as well as their opinions regarding guns in America. Among the 54 participants who were able to provide information beyond that which was presented within the event's title (i.e., High-Knowledged, HK), we found that they accurately recalled both the year and state of the shooting, as well as the number of perpetrators and their ages relative to the 74 Low-Knowledged participants (i.e., those who could not contribute additional details beyond the title provided). However, the HK participants overestimated the number of fatalities relative to LK. Factors like religiosity, support of the NRA, political affiliation, and firearm ownership did not separate between HK and LK.

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The Accuracy of Undergraduate Memory of the Columbine School Shooting

We administered a questionnaire to University of San Diego students and prompted participants to describe any memories they had regarding the 'Columbine School Shooting.' Subsequent questions probed for the recognition memory of the participants. We collected demographic information, political affiliation tendencies as well as their opinions regarding guns in America. Among the 54 participants who were able to provide information beyond that which was presented within the event's title (i.e., High-Knowledged, HK), we found that they accurately recalled both the year and state of the shooting, as well as the number of perpetrators and their ages relative to the 74 Low-Knowledged participants (i.e., those who could not contribute additional details beyond the title provided). However, the HK participants overestimated the number of fatalities relative to LK. Factors like religiosity, support of the NRA, political affiliation, and firearm ownership did not separate between HK and LK.