current research 3

what do the authors mean by atmospherics

they are emotional tones, verbal and non verbal cues, threats, bribes, put into place to influence a child to answer a question the way you want

what is stereotype induction

the act of repeatedly saying something about an individual or group that may lead to a child using it in their statement because they believe it

should anatomically correct dolls be used in questioning children regarding sexual abuse

no because research has shown that it leads to false allegations and isn’t beneficial for the cases. a child could be confused and just simply point to things to answer the question without understanding the true meaning

steven ceci reccomends that interviewers treat child abuse cases carefully, by looking for disconfirming evidence, this is called:

proof by disproof

the goal of cross examination should be to uncover the truth, how does this differ from how it’s actually used

used as a way to discredit the statement/ witness

if you want testimony from a 3 year old A) what should you ask B) what shouldn’t you ask

A) ask open ended questions bc it leads to more detailed explanations

B) do not ask specific questions like yes or no questions bc they can lead to “i don’t know”

Previous studies of cross-examination dealt with children's recall of a videotaped event rather than one that actually happened to them. Why is this problematic, and how have these researchers improved on that prior research?

they switched to real experiences vs videos bc children will remember better with real life experiences compared to a video tape

*How long was the delay between the first interview and the cross-examination interview? Why did they pick this interval? (2)

What was the IV in this study (in other words, what variable did they actually manipulate/randomly assign people to levels of)? (2)

there was an 8 month gap bc that’s how long a trial is supposed to be

IV: some children received and extra interview where they received misinformation

*What actual experience were the children interviewed about? (1)

What 2 things that didn't happen during that experience were also asked about?

they were asked about their time at the police station (getting mugshot, fingerprints, seeing a jail cell). 2 pieces of misinformation were trying on handcuffs and someone coming in to report a stolen bike

*in a courtroom, the jury's assumption is often that only incorrect answers will be changed in response to cross-examination. What did this study show about that?

85% of children changed at least one answer and 1/3 changed all their answers

When the initial complaint was made in the McMartin preschool case, what information about the mother should have led authorities to be somewhat skeptical of her claim? (2)

she previously accused her boyfriend of assaulting her son and dog. she also talks about the bad man pushing a goat down the stairs, pricking his finger, and putting it in the goats but. she was also schizophrenic and off her meds

In the case of the Little Rascals Day Care Center in North Carolina, two fairly severe forms of punishment were alleged to have been used, yet the children on whom these techniques had been implemented later testified in court, showing no signs of the alleged punishment. Explain. (this is not about the paper cutter in New Jersey-see the bonuses at the end of the test) (2)

Cordón & Day (1996). Strategy use on standardized reading comprehension tests.

Journal of Educational Psychology, 88, 288-295.

the first was taking the class on a boat and dropping the child to the sharks, the second was the second was hanging a child upside down from a tree and burning them. if these crimes had been done they would have been injured with marks

What did the authors identify as the primary weakness in prior research on strategy use on standardized reading tests? (1)

there was very limited research and the research would also just blame the test instead of looking into strategy

Of the strategies that were observed, which one was used far more than the others? (2)

The majority of students just reread the passage multiples times rather than using strategies like paraphrasing.

Identify the major methodological flaw in this study that we discussed in class, and explain why it is a flaw.

The major flaw in this study is that Cordon researched, designed, tested, and wrote the entire thing himself which could lead to bias

Some rather important information about the sample of participants was removed during the editorial process. Explain.

The editor made Dr. Cordon remove crucial information such as the fact that around 25 participants were paid $5 to complete the study and that a majority of the sample came from one high school even though participants were recruited from three

In the case of Kelly Michaels, the New Jersey preschool teacher, children accused her of carrying out a certain disciplinary practice with the paper cutter, which oddly enough never produced any physical evidence (or at least, none that was presented in court). What was the practice?

cutting their penises with the paper cutter

Bonus #2: In the McMartin preschool trial, several children testified that they had arrived at the "secret room" via an unusual mode of transport. Explain.