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Gonzalves L, Chae Y, Wang Y, Widaman KF, Bederian‐Gardner D, Goodman‐Wilson M, Thompson RA, Shaver PR, Goodman GS. Children’s Memory and Suggestibility Years Later: Age, Distress, and Attachment. APPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/acp.3988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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Coping Strategies, Immediate and Delayed Suggestibility among Children and Adolescents. SOCIAL SCIENCES 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/socsci9110186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Knowing the factors that influence children’s suggestibility is important in implementing the psychological variables to be evaluated during a forensic evaluation. In the interrogative suggestibility model, coping strategies intervene in determining the acceptance or rejection of the leading question. However, studies that investigated the relationship between interrogative suggestibility and coping strategies had mixed results. Avoidance-oriented coping is associated with high level to immediate suggestibility and problem-focused with low levels. In this study, we measured immediate suggestibility, delayed suggestibility, and coping strategies in a sample of 100 children. We hypothesized that avoidance-oriented coping strategies have a predictive effect in increasing immediate suggestibility levels, in particular avoidance-oriented coping oriented towards the tendency to accept leading questions. No effect of coping strategies was expected on delayed suggestibility. All children completed the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale (GSS 2), a non-verbal IQ test, and the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS). Coping strategies were not related to delayed suggestibility, but avoidance-oriented coping correlated positively with immediate suggestibility. Avoidance-oriented coping emerged as the only significant predictive model for shift and total suggestibility, and its subscale distraction emerged as a predictor for Yield 1 and Yield 2. No predictors emerged for delayed suggestibility. Results are discussed for their theoretical implications.
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Brown DA, Lewis CN, Lamb ME, Gwynne J, Kitto O, Stairmand M. Developmental differences in children's learning and use of forensic ground rules during an interview about an experienced event. Dev Psychol 2019; 55:1626-1639. [PMID: 31192645 PMCID: PMC6644439 DOI: 10.1037/dev0000756] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Children often answer questions when they do not have the requisite knowledge or when they do not understand them. We examined whether ground rules instruction—to say “I don’t know,” to tell the truth, and to correct the interviewer when necessary—assisted children in applying those rules during an interview about a past event and whether doing so was associated with more accurate accounts. We compared children with intellectual disabilities (mild or moderate severity, n = 44, 7–12 years) with 3 groups of typically developing children (2 matched for mental age, and 1 for chronological age, n = 55, 4–12 years) on their understanding of 3 ground rules, their use of these rules in an interview, and their accuracy in recalling a personally experienced event. Many children were able to demonstrate proficiency with the rules following simple instruction but others required additional teaching. Children applied the rules sparingly in the interview. Their scores on the practice trials of each rule were unrelated to each other, and to the use of the rules in context. Their developmental level was significantly related to both of these skills. Regression models showed that developmental level was the best predictor of children’s accuracy when they recounted their experience during the interview but that use of responses consistent with the rules, in conjunction with developmental level, predicted accurate resistance to suggestive questions. Future research should identify how best to prepare children of different ages and cognitive abilities to answer adults’ questions appropriately.
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Foster I, Wyman J, Tong D, Colwell K, Talwar V. Does eyewitness and interviewer gender influence children's reports? An experimental analysis of eyewitness and interviewer gender on children's testimony. PSYCHIATRY, PSYCHOLOGY, AND LAW : AN INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF THE AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND ASSOCIATION OF PSYCHIATRY, PSYCHOLOGY AND LAW 2018; 26:499-519. [PMID: 31984092 PMCID: PMC6762099 DOI: 10.1080/13218719.2018.1507844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2017] [Accepted: 07/27/2018] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
This study examines how children's age, gender and interviewer gender affected children's testimony after witnessing a theft. Children (N = 127, age = 6-11 years) witnessed an experimenter (E1) find money, which he/she may/may not have taken. E1 then asked the children to falsely deny that the theft occurred, falsely accuse E1 of taking the money, or tell the truth when interviewed by a second experimenter. Falsely denying or falsely accusing influenced children's forthcomingness and quality of their testimony. When accusing, boys were significantly more willing than girls to disclose about the theft earlier and without being asked directly. When truthfully accusing, children gave lengthier testimony to same-gendered adults. When denying, children were significantly more willing to disclose the theft earlier to male interviewers than to females. As children aged, they were significantly less likely to lie, more likely to disclose earlier when accusing, and give lengthier and more consistent testimony.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ida Foster
- Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Joshua Wyman
- Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Donia Tong
- Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Kevin Colwell
- Department of Psychology, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Victoria Talwar
- Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
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Henderson HM, Andrews SJ, Lamb ME. Examining children in English High Courts with and without implementation of reforms authorized in Section 28 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act. APPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/acp.3472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Michael E. Lamb
- Department of Psychology; University of Cambridge; Cambridge UK
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Selmeczy D, Ghetti S. Here is a hint! How children integrate reliable recommendations in their memory decisions. J Exp Child Psychol 2018; 177:222-239. [PMID: 30248533 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2018.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2018] [Revised: 08/01/2018] [Accepted: 08/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Children's own memory is not the only reliable source of information about past events. Others may possess relevant knowledge, and children must learn to appropriately consider it in combination with their own memories. In the current study, we investigated 5-, 7-, and 9-year-olds' (N = 72) ability to incorporate probabilistically reliable (70% accurate) hints into their memory decisions. Results revealed that children across ages were appropriately sensitive to these cues without following them blindly and indiscriminately. Furthermore, individual differences in metamemory monitoring predicted overall accuracy improvements after receiving cues in 9-year-olds but not in 5- and 7-year-olds, revealing a developmental role of metamemory for discerning when cues are most informative or needed. Although 5-year-olds increased overall confidence in their memory after receiving invalid cues, they still preserved the capacity to monitor their memory in the face of inaccurate information. Overall, children were sensitive to reliable recommendations, but developing metacognitive mechanisms predicted judicious benefits from cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana Selmeczy
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA; Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
| | - Simona Ghetti
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA; Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
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Szojka ZA, Andrews SJ, Lamb ME, Stolzenberg SN, Lyon TD. Challenging the Credibility of Alleged Victims of Child Sexual Abuse in Scottish Courts. PSYCHOLOGY, PUBLIC POLICY, AND LAW : AN OFFICIAL LAW REVIEW OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA COLLEGE OF LAW AND THE UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI SCHOOL OF LAW 2017; 23:200-210. [PMID: 31555043 PMCID: PMC6760857 DOI: 10.1037/law0000117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
This study examined the effects of credibility-challenging questions (n = 2,729) on 62 5- to 17-year-olds' testimony in child sexual abuse cases in Scotland by categorizing the type, source, and content of the credibility-challenging questions defense lawyers asked and assessing how children responded. Credibility-challenging questions comprised 14.9% of all questions asked during cross-examination. Of defense lawyers' credibility-challenging questions, 77.8% focused generally on children's honesty, whereas the remainder referred to specific inconsistencies in the children's testimony. Children resisted credibility challenges 54% of the time, significantly more often than they provided compliant responses (26.8%). The tendency to resist was significantly lower for questions focused on specific rather than general inconsistencies, and peripheral rather than central content. Overall, children resisted credibility challenges more often when the aim and content of the question could be understood easily. As this was a field study, the accuracy of children's responses could not be assessed. The findings suggest that credibility-challenging questions that place unrealistic demands on children's memory capacities (e.g., questions focused on peripheral content or highly specific details) occur frequently, and that juries should be made aware of the disproportionate effects of such questioning on the consistency of children's testimony.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zsófia A Szojka
- Zsófia A. Szojka, School of Law, Royal Holloway, University of London; Samantha J. Andrews and Michael E. Lamb, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge; Stacia N. Stolzenberg, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Arizona State University; Thomas D. Lyon, Gould School of Law, University of Southern California
| | - Samantha J Andrews
- Zsófia A. Szojka, School of Law, Royal Holloway, University of London; Samantha J. Andrews and Michael E. Lamb, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge; Stacia N. Stolzenberg, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Arizona State University; Thomas D. Lyon, Gould School of Law, University of Southern California
| | - Michael E Lamb
- Zsófia A. Szojka, School of Law, Royal Holloway, University of London; Samantha J. Andrews and Michael E. Lamb, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge; Stacia N. Stolzenberg, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Arizona State University; Thomas D. Lyon, Gould School of Law, University of Southern California
| | - Stacia N Stolzenberg
- Zsófia A. Szojka, School of Law, Royal Holloway, University of London; Samantha J. Andrews and Michael E. Lamb, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge; Stacia N. Stolzenberg, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Arizona State University; Thomas D. Lyon, Gould School of Law, University of Southern California
| | - Thomas D Lyon
- Zsófia A. Szojka, School of Law, Royal Holloway, University of London; Samantha J. Andrews and Michael E. Lamb, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge; Stacia N. Stolzenberg, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Arizona State University; Thomas D. Lyon, Gould School of Law, University of Southern California
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