Impact of developmental psychology on children in the legal system

Introduction
Thompson/Venables case - Nov 1993
1. Implications and Reform
  1. Criminal responsibility - doli incapax
Memorandum of Good Practice (1992)
1. Interviewing Protocol / Phases of interview
  1. video links
Lyon & Saywitz (1999)
1. 4-7 years old can distinguish a truth from a lie, but not definition or explain difference
  1. Maltreated children; developmental delay
    1. Ecological validity/response bias
Hufman et al (1999)
1. Elaborate TLD compared to standard or no TLD
  1. Built up more rapport?
Sternberg et al, 2001
1. 40% of interviewer utterances focused questions
  1. Half responses elicited by 4-6 yrs in response to open-ended prompts
    1. Interviewer anxiety to elicit specific info
Dent & Stephenson, 1979
1. More errors elicited by focused questions than free recall and open-ended questioning
Aldridge & Cameron, 1999
1. No stat sig diff between interviewers that had been trained and those that hadn't
  1. Small sample (N=19); did not account for ind.diff in interviewing skills
Conclusion
1. Further work needed
  1. Diploma/MSc in Child Forensic studies - theoretical knowledge of psych and law, underpins practical learning

Resource summary

	Created by Emfletche over 10 years ago