Ceci and Bruck Flashcards
According to Ceci and Bruck’s (1993) review, why are children more suggestible than adults?
Because children often change their answer if asked repeatedly.
Who was listed as one fo the most cited developmental psychologists?
Ceci
What were the high profile abuse trials?
(1) Kern county child abuse case
(2) County Walk Nursery
(3) Wee Care Nursery School,
What happened in the Kern county child abuse case
- Debbie and Alvin McCuan were accused of abusing their own children by step-grandmother Mary Ann Barbour
- Accusations of sexual abuse, child prostitution, child pornography
- No phsycial evidence
- Testimony of child relied upon
- Coercive interviewing techniques used on children as witnesses
- Various individuals were coercing techniques. This limits reliability of the testimony of the child
- Sentenced to 240 years in prison
- Conviction was overturned in 1996
- 14 years in prisons
What happened in the county walk nursery
• Frank and Ileana Fuster were accused of 14 counts of abuse
– Some pretty horrible details
• Frank convicted with 165 year sentence
• Ileana pleaded guilty and turned in Frank, 10(+10) years
• Coercive interviewing of the children helped to secure conviction
what happened in the Wee Care Nursery School
- Margaret Kelly Michaels was indicted for 299 offenses in connection with the sexual assault of 33 children
- [The children] had regressed into such behavior as bed-wetting and defecating in their clothing. The witnesses said the children became afraid to be left alone or to stay in the dark.” (Narvaez, 1988)
- Sentenced to 47 years in prison but overturned after 5 years on appeal
- New Jersey Supreme Court: “the interviews of the children were highly improper and utilized coercive and unduly suggestive methods.“ (Chira, 2003)
How does coercive interview affect childrens evidence
– Suggestion
– Conformity pressure
– Speculative
What did the re-emergence of interest in suggetibility bring
- Increased admissibility of expert psychological testimony
- Social scientists want to do research relevant to the time
- Increased number of crimes involving child victims in courts
- Continuation of research on adult suggestibility
What did Binet discuss
Binet (1900): La suggestibilité
Dangers of repeated leading questions
Advantages of free recall over closed (yes/no) questions
what is autosuggestion (Binet)
• Children were given lines with no instructions
• They had to guess the sixth one
o Would be longer if in a pattern
• Children draw what they expect rather than what is true
What did King and Yuille find about children being more suggestible than adults
Participants: 6-, 9-, 11- and 16-year-olds
Procedure:
• Seated in a room when somebody came in to water the plants; the stranger looked at the clock and indicated it was late
• Children were interviewed with some leading questions, e.g. “On which arm did the man wear his watch?” (he didn’t wear one)
Results:
• 6-year-olds more suggestible than 9-16’s
• 6-year-olds recalled less detail
What did Fin find if children are more suggestible than older children
Participants: 6 year-olds, 10 year-olds and adults
Procedure:
• Exposed to an argument during a lecture on foot hygiene
• Half questioned 1 day later, all questioned 5 months later
• 3 questions contained erroneous suggestions
Results:
• Reponses were highly accurate in both interviews
• Responses were highly accurate for all ages
• Only a few participants accepted the erroneous information
What are the cogntivie factors
- trace theory
2. source monitorig theory
What is the trace theory
Verbatim Trace: Surface detail about the event
Gist Trace: General meaning of the event
Developmental differences in the reliance on each trace type
what is source monitoring theory
- Suggestibility = difficulties in determining the source of information
- Developmental differences in source monitoring
