Interviewing preschool children who are victims or witnesses of crime to ensure accuracy and completeness of their recall is no easy task. Rising up to the challenge, a large number of empirical psychological studies related to interviewing young children have been conducted in the past decades. Most of these studies were applied research, simulating circumstances of real forensic interviews. It is believed, however, that more basic research could also be informative. The present article thus selectively reviews more basic psychological research in the areas of memory development, language development, and conceptual development as they relate to the forensic interviewing of preschool children. Based on characteristics of preschool children’s development in these areas, some useful guidelines are generated for forensic interviewers. Recommendations for future research are also made.
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