NCJ Number
132505
Editor(s)
J Doris
Date Published
1991
Length
206 pages
Annotation
These 10 papers and accompanying commentaries review the theoretical and empirical psychological literature and present recent research results regarding children's memory, its suggestibility, and the implications for interviews of child victims and witnesses and the use of their testimony, especially in cases of child sexual abuse.
Abstract
An overview notes that researchers have reached differing conclusions and that major current issues include ecological validity, the nature of distortion of recollection, and the diversity of samples and situations studied. Individual papers focus on the development of memory, the processes of forgetting and retrieval, the effects of stress and arousal on the child witness, and factors that distort recollections. They also discuss the varying meanings of the term "suggestibility," the methodological issues that must be addressed in studying these topics, and the problems involved in applying research findings. Research is recommended to determine the conditions under which children are as vulnerable or more vulnerable to suggestion than adults and to guide the training of investigators. Tables, figures, chapter reference lists, and index