Psychology 2032A/B Chapter Notes - Chapter 6: Free Recall, Behavioural Sciences, Physical Abuse

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 2032A/B
• Professor: Kathleen McKeown

Document Summary

Prevailing legal attitude toward child witnesses was skepticism. Research on child witness abilities, four factors that led to the renewed interest . Social scientists interested in things that could be applied to real world problems. The legal community became interested in behavioural science research regarding child witnesses. Whether there was corroborative evidence and whether the suspect denied allegations were two factors in proceeding with these types of cases. Children are capable of accurately recalling forensically relevant details of events and much that is accurate. Challenge is determining when they are accurately recalling or fabricating. Research suggests the accuracy is highly dependant on the questioning type. Accuracy is comparable with adults when asked to use a free narrative. "what else do you remember" and similar prompts are required to elicit the required information. More likely to produce an erroneous response when asked leading questions. Timing of suggestive interviewing can be influential, repeated.