The suggestibility of children in interview studies

Abstract

Eyewitness researchers have long argued that children's testimony is unreliable because of their excessive suggestibility. The present study is an examination of two factors thought to explain some of the apparent suggestibility of children: (1) the emphasis placed on giving a classifiable answer to every question asked; (2) the effects of repeated questioning within an interview.

A total of 72 children, from three age groups (6, 8 and 10 years) was questioned about a staged event they had witnessed earlier. It was found that telling children that they could say 'Don't know' to questions increased the number of such responses, but with no effect on the overall proportion of correct or incorrect responses. Even subjects who had not been instructed in the use of this response were prepared to say 'Don't know' to the experimenter's questions. Repeated questioning resulted in a decrease in the number of correct responses given, but had no effect on the number of incorrect re sponses.

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