Abstract
The effects of type of questioning (leading or nonleading) and type of relationship between child and defendant (defendant is known, i.e., relative, or unknown, i.e., stranger) on mock jurors' perceptions of a child witness were investigated. 92 students read a transcript (a prosecutor questioning a child witness), then answered questions (each on an 11-point scale) regarding their perceptions of the child witness. When the questioning was nonleading (vs leading), the mock jurors judged the certainty of their verdict to be greater (M = 8.1, SD = 1.9 M = 7.1, SD = 25, respectively) and the child witness to be more credible (M = 9.0, SD = 1.7; M = 7.9, SD = 2.6, respectively) and honest (M = 9.8, SD = 1.2; M = 8.7, SD = 2.4, respectively). The type of relationship between the defendant and the child witness did not affect perceptions of the child witness. Possible reasons and implications for the findings are discussed.
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