RT Article
T1 “I Didn’t Do That!” Event Valence and Child Age Influence Adults’ Discernment of Preschoolers’ True and False Statements
JF Journal of interpersonal violence
VO 36
IS 1/2
A1 Johnson, Jonni L.
A2 Hobbs, Susan 1945-
A2 Chae, Yoojin
A2 Goodman, Gail S.
A2 Shestowsky, Donna
A2 Block, Stephanie D.
LA English
YR 2021
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1747365173
AB Justice can hinge on adults’ abilities to distinguish accurate from inaccurate child testimony. Yet relatively little is known about factors that affect adults’ abilities to determine the accuracy of children’s eyewitness reports. In this study, adults (N = 108) viewed videoclips of 3- and 5-year-olds answering open-ended and leading questions about positive and negative actually experienced (“true”) events or never experienced (“false”) events that the children either affirmed or denied. Analyses revealed that adults were more accurate at determining the veracity of negative compared with positive incidents, particularly when children said that they had experienced the event. Moreover, adults’ accuracy was at chance for older children’s false denials. Psycholegal implications are discussed.
K1 false memory
K1 true memory
K1 Accuracy
K1 Adults
K1 Discernment
K1 valence
K1 Children
DO 10.1177/0886260517736276