NCJ Number
159200
Journal
Law and Human Behavior Volume: 19 Issue: 6 Dated: (December 1995) Pages: 569-591
Date Published
1995
Length
23 pages
Annotation
Two experiments examined how mock jurors react to a case involving a repressed memory of child sexual assault.
Abstract
The participants were 57 male and 66 female college students who took part in partial fulfillment of a course requirement. The participants in Experiment 1 read a fictional civil trial summary; the participants in Experiment 2 read a fictional criminal trial summary. Each summary involved the sexual assault of a 6-year-old female. The summary was presented in three different versions. In the child version, the alleged victim reported her memory of the assault in the same year that the assault occurred. In the repressed version, the alleged victim reported the assault 20 years later, after remembering it for the first time. In the no-repressed version, the alleged victim reported the assault 20 years later, but the memory of the assault had been present for the 20 years. Results revealed that although the alleged victim's testimony was believed to some extent in all versions, the alleged victim in the child version was believed at the highest level; this was associated with more decisions against the defendant. Findings represent an initial step toward understanding how jurors react to repressed memory cases. Tables, methodological information, and 35 references (Author abstract modified)