Adults' interpretation of invitations using the word ‘time’

The present study examined adults' interpretations of invitations using the word ‘time’. Recent research has demonstrated that children may misunderstand these invitations as solely requesting temporal information (Friend et al., 2022). This study tested whether adults perceive the ambiguity in these invitations and whether they understand the source of children's pseudotemporal errors. We examined 401 adult participants' perceptions of invitations using the word ‘time’, varying the phrasing of the invitation (about the time vs. what happened) and whether the participant had exposure to a child's pseudotemporal response. Adults largely interpreted the invitations as requests for what happened during an event, not requests for when an event occurred. They rated the invitations as clear, not difficult and appropriate for elementary‐aged children. However, they were more likely to rate about the time invitations as temporal compared to what happened invitations. Additionally, their perceptions of clarity and age appropriateness decreased when they were exposed to children's overtly pseudotemporal responses. These results suggest that although adults typically fail to identify the ambiguity in invitations using the word ‘time’, they are able to adjust their interpretation of the questions, at least when they are provided clear evidence of children's misinterpretation. Key Practitioner Messages Recent research has demonstrated that invitations with the word ‘time’ can be confusing for witnesses, as these invitations can be misunderstood as requests for time. Using the phrasing ‘about the time’ in these invitations increases the rate of temporal misunderstanding. Therefore, when using invitations with the word ‘time’, interviewers should always phrase their question with ‘what happened’ language.