NCJ Number
187132
Date Published
2001
Length
17 pages
Annotation
The role of behavioral scientists as reporters of research findings that may be contrary to public knowledge and expectations is examined in the context of the suggestibility of children's memory of sexual abuse.
Abstract
Behavioral scientists have a long history of informing society about matters of general and personal interest. Despite the fact that these scientists frequently do not agree on the "truth" about human behavior, the public continues to seek expert opinion from them on various matters of public and personal interest. Given the limitations inherent in the behavioral and social sciences, researchers often emphasize the fact that consensus is still lacking or that findings from the laboratory need to be qualified by important caveats. Specific studies of situational effects on the suggestibility of children's memory are reviewed that focus on children's memories about others, children's reports of real and imagined personal experiences, persistence of children's false beliefs, children's reports about visits to pediatricians, and the use of anatomical dolls to symbolically represent actions. Other studies are noted that focus on moral development and condition and confirmatory biases of interviewers. Guidelines for clinical practitioners are offered that acknowledge certain limitations of research on the suggestibility of children's memory. 31 references