Chapter 6 - Children & The Law

PSYC 268 - SFU - DR. ADELE QUIGLEY-MCBRIDE

Child vs. Adult Psychology

Children struggle with the same aspects of memory and decision making as adults do. 

• Effects tend to be much greater in children. 

• children are better than adults in certain things such as telling the truth and recalling events.

LineUps & Eyewitnesses

Children aren’t as practised at recognizing faces or understanding levels of certainty in situations as adults are.

• Padding Sequential LineUps. 

• Blank LineUp. 

Padding Sequential LineUp

Adding several blank photo cards at the end of a lineup, which prevents knowing how many people there will be. 

Blank LineUp

Before presenting a real lineup, a lineup with only fillers are shown to test if EW chooses one. 

• Tells something about their response bias and strength in memory. 

Children in the Legal System

May be asked to do a variety of tasks such as face recognition, investigative interviews, provide evidence to construct a narrative, and give a testimony in court.

• Cognitively Capable. 

• Honest. 

• Suggestive. 

Children Testimony in Trials

Historically a distrust of children as witnesses as there is a required corroboration of other evidence in addition to a child’s testimony.

• Historical vs Current Approach.

• Recent Complain Doctrine.

• Testimonial Aids. 

Historical Approach of Child Testimonies

• Must demonstrate capacity to testify.

• Must take an oath and answer questions about it.

• Must promise to tell the truth and answer questions about it.

Current Approach of Child Testimonies 

• Presumed to have capacity to testify. 

• Must promise to tell the truth, no oath required. 

• Must be competent to understand and respond to simple questions about past events. 

Testimonial Aids

Procedures to help reduce stress and trauma for children testifying.

• Support Person/Animal.

• Videotaped Testimony.

• Testifying Behind a Screen.

• Testifying via CCTV.

• Closed Courtroom.

• Protection of Children’s Wellbeing over Defender’s Right to Face Accuser.

Recent Complaint Doctrine

Requires victims to make complaints at first possible opportunity, delay in reporting could be used to undermine credibility. However, child witnesses are likely to delay disclosing.

Cognitively Capable

Seen as less ___ than adults as it increases with age. 

Honest

Seen as more ___ than adults as they are unable to fabricate details of certain events.

Suggestive

Seen as more open to ___ than adults. 

• Accuracy of information gathered from children can depend on how ___ a question may be.

Suggestibility

Children are very suggestible as they are used to believing that adults are right and that they must do what adults tell them to.

• Suggestibility in Memory.

• Increasing Suggestibility.

• Decreasing Suggestibility.

Suggestibility in Memory

Degree to which memory for events can be influenced by social and psychological factors.

Increasing Suggestibility

Interviewer can:

• Use leading questions.

• Hold repeated interviews.

• Use imagination-based retrieval techniques.

• Have the presence of an authority figure.

Child can:

• Be peer influenced.

Decreasing Suggestibility 

Child can:

• Provide descriptive narratives. 

• Be assertive.

• Correct the interviewer.

• Seek clarification when unsure/confused. 

• Say “no” to close-ended questions. 

• Choose when given multiple choice questions. 

• Answer with “I don’t know” to typical event questions. 

Accuracy of Information 

Children are still learning about the world separate from imagination and ideas, so reality can sometimes be blurred, leading to false memories. 

• Have poor comprehension of complicated situations or concepts.

• Susceptible to vulnerability so may not know what is okay and what is not, and when to stand up for their own rights. 

• NICHD Protocol. 

NICHD Protocol

Open-Ended Questions to Close-Ended Questions to Leading Questions.

• Best order to ask in.

• Allow them to talk about what comes to mind.

• Interviewer should acknowledge what was said and encourage them to continue.

• Interview Phases.

Interview Phases

• Pre-Substantive: introduction, ground rules, rapport building, and practise interview.

  • Invitation.

• Substantive: transition, investigative incidents, focused questions, and disclosure information.

  • Cued Invitation.

  • Directive.

• Post-Substantive: closure, explaining, and finished interview on neutral topic

Invitation

Classic, asking open ended questions and prompts. 

Cued Invitation

Incorporate previously reported detail.

Directive

Request specific information about previously reported details.

Benefits of Multiple/Repeated Interviews

• Recall of something new and accurate that they did not previously.

• Practice recalling and testing memory recollection.

• Improve children’s ability to resist suggestion.

Drawbacks of Multiple/Repeated Interviewing

• When suggestive methods are used it can exacerbate effects.

• When close-ended questions are used it may reduce accuracy of information. 

Repression

Memories that are so traumatic, painful, or threatening can sometimes be repressed into our unconscious, but continue to leak mental illness onto the conscious self. Fa

False Memories

When techniques are used to uncover repressed memories, it may lead to false memories instead of an accurate memory.

• Some memories can be spontaneously remembered, but are rare and would not occur using therapeutic techniques.

Evaluating Recovered Memories

• Special techniques to recover memories.

• Age at time of said memory.

• Motivation for recall.

• Time that has elapsed since alleged memory.