Children s testimony of judicial proceedings throughout. Top american libraries canadian libraries universal library community texts project gutenberg biodiversity heritage library childrens library. American psychological association this volume includes contributions from psychologys leading authorities on the suggestibility of childrens recollection, a subject already known. International perspectives on child abuse and childrens. This book examines children s testimony from several perspectives and gives you insightful suggestions for increasing children s abilities to testify accurately about traumatic things that have.
Is there consensus about childrens memory and suggestibility. Interdisciplinary in nature, memory and testimony in the child witness should be in the professional toolkit of all psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and attorneys working with childrens testimony. Pdf the suggestibility of childrens memory researchgate. For over 25 years, she has directed mental health programs serving children and families in the public sector and taught normative child development in medicine, law, psychology, social work, and nursing. Timely and truly international in scope, this volume focuses on the techniques and procedures used to accommodate child witnesses in legal systems in countries around the world and on the research investigating the effectiveness and implications of those techniques. Mar 07, 20 inaccuracies in childrens testimony combines the literature on obedience to authority with that on suggestibility to create a third literature. Memory and suggestibility in the forensic interview taylor. Implications for eyewitness testimony 19910104 paperback january 1, 1806 4. Older children recalled more accurate information than younger children, and both groups recalled more accurate information after the short than the long delay. The suggestibility of childrens recollections ebook. It provides the most cuttingedge information available on topics such as child abuse, childrens eyewitness testimony, divorce and custody, juvenile crime, and childrens rights. Childrens testimony is often the only evidence of alleged abuse. The testimony of small children has usually been considered truthful unless proved otherwise.
The fraud of psychiatric testimony and the rape of american justice. During the past decade, the scientific study of children s memory, suggestibility, and eyewitness abilities has moved away from simply examining whether children can be led to err in their memory reports and has turned instead toward investigating how characteristics in children and their social environment affect the accuracy and completeness of their accounts. Legal authors dating back to the middle ages have voiced concerns about childrens abilities as witnesses, citing their proneness to invention, their inability to distinguish fact from fantasy, and their incompetence for accurately recalling events uncontaminated by suggestion goodman, 1984. As a result of an increasing awareness of child abuse over the last few decades, children have been admitted as court witnesses more frequently, yet there has been persistent wariness about the reliability of their testimony. It provides the most cuttingedge information available on topics such as child abuse, children s eyewitness testimony, divorce and custody, juvenile crime, and children s rights. But these are not studies of interviewerbias driven interviews in. Jun 16, 1997 inaccuracies in children s testimony combines the literature on obedience to authority with that on suggestibility to create a third literature.
Suggestibility is regarded as a major issue when children testify in court. Implications for sexual abuse investigations gail s. Memory and suggestibility in the forensic interview. This book examines children s testimony from several perspectives and gives you insightful suggestions for increasing children s abilities to testify accurately about traumatic things that have happened to them. Pdf expert testimony on the suggestibility of children. Children, social science, and the law, 2002 online research. There is a trend among american courts toward admitting defense expert testimony on the suggestibility of children in sexual abuse cases. Starting with psychological underpinnings and child protection considerations, the reader is taken through a clearly structured and timely collection of chapters from internationally renowned contributors. Sep 01, 2001 memories are the ultimate foundation of testimony in legal settings ranging from criminal trials to divorce mediations and custody hearings. Inaccuracies in childrens testimony combines the literature on obedience to authority with that on suggestibility to create a third literature.
Child witnesses in court innocence lost frontline pbs. Leading psychologists in the field address issues relevant to the reliability of childrens testimony. Featured movies all video latest this just in prelinger archives democracy now. Thus, the importance of conducting forensic interviews that are free from bias and misleading information is immense, as these could lead to false reports. Studies reveal suggestibility of very young as witnesses. Furthermore, in some extreme cases in which the childs allegation is essential.
Child witnesses pose unique challenges to the legal system, and courtrooms are daunting and alien to children. Textbooks on developmental psychology regularly stress that the. The suggestibility of childrens recollections ebook, 1991. Children, social science, and the law, 2002 online. Hence, to date, children s suggestibility apparently is not uniquely related to emotional intensity. Inaccuracies in children s testimony combines the literature on obedience to authority with that on suggestibility to create a third literature. The credibility of childrens testimony is a hotly debated topic in americas courtrooms, universities, and professional organizations.
Proper interviewing techniques must be utilized to safeguard childrens testimony from the effect of misinformation and suggestibility, as these could lead to false reports. Adaptability has also been predicted to affect childrens suggestibility, because children who adapt well to interview contexts may feel more comfortable and thus be able to resist an interviewers suggestions more than less adaptable children. Memory and suggestibility in the forensic interview by. Abstract this research paper investigates childrens testimony in judicial proceedings throughout the past few decades. Suggestibility is the quality of being inclined to accept and act on the suggestions of others. As a result, a child is interviewed by law enforcement and social. The credibility of children s testimony is a hotly debated topic in america s courtrooms, universities, and professional organizations. Part i of this article briefly describes the history and current state of research into childrens suggestibility.
Visit the apa books homepage to browse or search for. An impressive collection of chapters from internationally renowned contributors, topics include children s memory, interviewing children, issues. This book examines childrens testimony from several perspectives and gives you insightful suggestions for increasing childrens abilities to testify accurately about traumatic things that have happened to them. One may fill in gaps in certain memories with false information given by another when recalling a scenario or moment.
Effects of interviewer support on childrens memory and. Legal authors dating back to the middle ages have voiced concerns. The children were interviewed 10 days and 10 wks later in 1 of 4 conditions. Childrens testimony wiley online books wiley online library. Hence, to date, childrens suggestibility apparently is not uniquely related to emotional intensity. Suggestibility, social support, and memory for a novel. American psychological association this volume includes contributions from psychology s leading authorities on the suggestibility of children s recollection, a subject already known to be controversial because of issues related to the. The modern scientific study of childrens eyewitness memory was initially motivated, in important part, by the sensational preschool investigations and prosecutions of the 1980s and 1990s e. During the past decade, the scientific study of childrens memory, suggestibility, and eyewitness abilities has moved away from simply examining whether children can be led to err in their memory reports and has turned instead toward investigating how characteristics in children and their social environment affect the accuracy and completeness of their accounts. Children s testimony is often the only evidence of alleged abuse.
The final chapter focuses on policy issues, including psychological research to guide legal reform in accommodating child witnesses. Are children more suggestible than adults, and if so, what are the implications for those who work with child witnesses. Thus, if the wee care children s testimony was a product of suggestive interviewing techniques, then their false allegations might persist long after the interviews had terminated. Adaptability has also been predicted to affect children s suggestibility, because children who adapt well to interview contexts may feel more comfortable and thus be able to resist an interviewer s suggestions more than less adaptable children. Until recently, children were generally viewed as unable to supply trustworthy testimony. In international perspectives on child abuse and children s testimony. This book examines childrens testimony from several perspectives and gives you insightful suggestions for increasing childrens abilities to testify accurately about traumatic things that have. Yet the last decade has seen mounting evidence of various ways in which the accuracy of memories can be distorted on the one hand and enhanced on the other. The volume is an important resource for researchers, attorneys, judges, policy makers, legislators, and mental health, social service, and police professionals. Furthermore, when parents or therapists read books with abuse themes to children, do children come to believe what happened in the book actually happened to them. Memory and suggestibility in the forensic interview personality and. Formerly, studies in this area indicated that there were pronounced agerelated differences in suggestibility, with preschool children being particularly susceptible to misleading suggestions. We wanted the chapters to cover the exciting domains of both child and adult eyewitness testimony. Yet the last decade has seen mounting evidence of various ways in which the accuracy of memories can be distorted on.
Jan 01, 2002 children s testimony offers a comprehensive and uptodate assessment of issues relating to children s evidence. In this part, we argue that, although psychological researchers disagree considerably over the degree to which the suggestibility of young children may lead to false allegations of sexual abuse, there is an overwhelming consensus that children are suggestible to a degree that, we. Thus, the importance of conducting forensic interviews that are free from bias and misleading. Sage books international perspectives on child abuse and. Childrens testimony offers a comprehensive and uptodate assessment of issues relating to childrens evidence. The next day, the teacher showed the children a torn book and a soiled teddy. These data suggest that the effects of suggestions may be extremely longlasting. Most critical for child witnesses is memory development. Issues in the empirical study of the sexual abuse of children john c. Saywitz, phd, is a professor at the ucla, school of medicine, department of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences. Inaccuracies in childrens testimony memory, suggestibility. Memory, suggestibility, and eyewitness testimony in children and adults. Visit the apa books homepage to browse or search for other books.