children and the justice system, stalking, and homicidal offenders Flashcards
1
Q
what are some factors that lead to a renewed interest in child witnesses?
A
- expert psychological testimony was becoming more acceptable in the courtroom (explained the abilities of children n the impact of their testimonies)
- social scientists were interested in research that could be applied to real-world problems
- studies on adult eyewitness testimonies were increasing (comparison of behavior child vs adult)
- the legal community became interested in behavioural science research regarding child witnesses (bc increase of sexual and physical abuse against children or being witness)
2
Q
why had children’s testimonies been traditionally treated with suspicion by the justice system?
A
preschool children, in particular, were believed to be incompetent witnesses because of concerns over their memory limitations, linguistic immaturity, and conceptual underdevelopment
3
Q
what are some general guidelines for interviewing preschool children?
A
- child needs to be able to engage in verbal conversations
- child may need to be older than 3 years old
- the crime must have occurred after the child is 2 years or older
4
Q
what does some psychological reseach say with regards to memory dev in children?
A
- childhood amnesia in children: young kids can recall things from personal experiences from first few years of life
- visual retrieval aids for preschool children: benefit from having help bc kids don’t have good mnemonics strategies
5
Q
what does some psychological reseach say with regards to language dev in children?
A
- verbal report of an event is frozen in time: when recall an event from when they were younger, they use the vocab they had at the time of the event
- question format (yes or no vs w’s questions): being asked bizzare questions in yes no format, kids will say yes instead of idk; less errors of recall when using the what, who, when…
6
Q
what does some psychological reseach say with regards to conceptual dev in children?
A
- strong reliance on scripts in their recall: younger kids (3-4 yr) rely on scripts in recall and might say things that didn’t happen
7
Q
what are the two factors influencing suggestibility in children?
A
- social compliance: bc they trust n want to cooperate w interviewer even if don’t understand question, have good intention
- changes to the cognitive system: tend to misattribute where info came from (thinking that something someone told u is ur actual experience)
8
Q
name the main interview techniques used with children?
A
- anatomically detailed dolls
- criterion-based content analysis
- step-wise interview
- narrative elaboration
9
Q
explain anatomically details dolls
A
- mainly used in sexual abuse cases
- will demonstrate the event experienced while playing w dolls (but might also create fanstasy/false details)
- no standardized way on how to use
- used when kids may have difficulty verbalizing what occured
10
Q
explain criterion-based content analysis
A
- analysis using criteria to distinguish truthful from false statements made by children
- a component of a protocol called the statement validity analysis
- 1) structure interview with child 2) a systematic analysis of the verbal content of the victim’s statement 3) application of a statement validity checklist
11
Q
explain the step-wise interview
A
- interview protocol with a series of steps designed to start the interview with the least leading and directive type of questioning then proceeding to more specific forms of questioning
- mainly using open ended question
12
Q
explain narrative elaboration
A
- teaching them how to tell a story before they recall the critical event, using cues (picture cards) to remind what to talk about
13
Q
what are children’s abilities with regards to target present and absent lineups?
A
- present: as young as 5, comparable to adults
- absent: children as old as 14 produce more errors (false identification) than adults
14
Q
how does elimination lineup look for kids?
A
- all lineup photos are presented to the child and the child is asked to select the lineup member who looks the most like the culprit (relative judgment)
- after removing all the other pics except the one they chose, the child is asked to compare his or her memory of the culprit with the most-similar photo selected in the first stage and decide if the photo is of the culprit (absolute judgment)
15
Q
what are some courtroom accommodations for children testifying in court?
A
- sitting in a different room but televised live in the courtroom
- child can decide who they want to be next to them white providing testimony, but if that person is a witness in the same court, that person must testify first
- shield/screen to separate the child and defendant so that the child does not see the defendant’s face
- child may be video-recorded while being interviewed about the details of the crime
- statements made by the child during initial disclosure of the abuse may be allowed as evidence (in cases of sexual abuse, ex. if a child talked to mom abt abuse, the mom can testify on behalf of child in court)
- courtroom may be closed to the public and/or media to protect the privacy of the child/ publication ban may be granted
16
Q
what is stalking?
A
- repeated physical or visual proximiity
- non-consensual communication
- verbal, written, or implied threats
- sufficent to cause fear in a reasonable person
- crime of intimidation
17
Q
what are the four categories of stalkers? in the ppt
A
- simple obsession stalkers: the most common kind, continuation of a previous pattern of dv in an intimate relationship, victim is usually former spouse
- love obsession stalkers: stalker and victim are casual acquaintances, includes celebrity stalking, primary motivation is to establish a personal relationship with victim
- erotomania stalking: offender is often plagued by serious mental disorders (most often schizophrenia), highly delusional, believe that the relationship with their victim already exists
- vengeance stalkers: they do not seek a personal relationship with their targeted victim, but rather try to elicit a particular response from their victim; vengeance is the prime motive (hopping they feel scared and move to a diff city or sumn)
18
Q
what factors usually contribution to someone stopping stalking?
A
- finding a new love interest
- law enforcement intervention, with the exception of more formal intervention such as arrest
- relocation of the victim
