NCJ Number
159948
Editor(s)
M S Zaragoza,
J R Graham,
G C N Hall,
R Hirschman,
Y S Ben-Porath
Date Published
1995
Length
312 pages
Annotation
Leading scholars in the field examine and integrate research and practice on assessing and enhancing the quality of children's eyewitness testimony.
Abstract
The first section examines factors that contribute to the accuracy and reliability of such testimony, including the effects of extended delays, repeated questioning, and exposure to leading questions. At least two dimensions characterize the studies in this section. One dimension is the type of event children are asked to remember. Some of the studies use more traditional laboratory analogues of the eyewitness situation, and others study children's autobiographical memory for naturally occurring events in their lives. A second dimension is the central issue that the various studies are designed to address; several studies focus on how well children remember events they have experienced, and others are concerned with whether suggestive or nonsuggestive questioning affects children's memory of events. The second section describes techniques that have been developed to improve the quality of children's testimony, such as anatomical dolls and interviewing techniques, and discusses their empirical and theoretical underpinnings. The final chapter focuses on policy issues and psychological research that guides legal reform in accommodating child witnesses. 462 references and a subject index