NCJRS Abstract |
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| NCJ Number: | NCJ 147432 |
| Title: | SUGGESTIBILITY OF THE CHILD WITNESS: A HISTORICAL REVIEW AND SYNTHESIS |
| Journal: | Psychological Bulletin Volume:113 Issue:3 Dated:(1993) Pages:403-439 |
| Author(s): | S J Ceci ; M Bruck |
| Sponsoring Agency: | National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) United States |
| Publication Date: | 1993 |
| Pages: | 37 |
| Type: | Issue overviews |
| Origin: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Grant No.: | RO1 HD 25775 |
| Annotation: | This article puts in historical context the field of children's testimony and describes psychological and legal views of child witnesses held by scholars since the turn of the 20th Century. |
| Abstract: | Although there has been consistent interest in children's suggestibility over the past century, the last 15' years have been the most active in terms of the number of published studies and novel theorizing about the causal mechanisms that underpin the observed findings. A synthesis of this research posits three families of factors--cognitive, social, and biological--that must be considered if one is to understand seemingly contradictory interpretations of the findings. The authors conclude that there are reliable age differences in suggestibility but that even very young children are capable of recalling much that is forensically relevant. Findings are discussed in terms of the role of expert witnesses. The article describes two court cases--the Wee Care Nursery School and the Country Walk Babysitting Service--in which child witnesses provided critical eyewitness testimony. These cases are windows through which to view the authors' points: How accurate are children's recollections of everyday events? How suggestible is the child witness? How much difficulty does the child have distinguishing reality from fantasy? How honest are children? Footnotes, references |
| Main Term(s): | Victims |
| Index Term(s): | Juveniles ; Theory/ ; Criminology ; Juvenile witnesses |
To cite this abstract, use the following link: http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=147432 | |
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