Discuss what we can learn about children's event memory from the way they respond in interviews.

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Cara Hannis

Student Number – 1209639

Discuss what we can learn about children’s event memory from the way they respond in interviews.

In an age where the risks of paedophilia and child abuse are well known (and publicised) to the public it is crucial that we know how reliable children’s recollections of significant events can be. Due to the realisation that this knowledge can have a huge impact upon the judicial system as thousands of children testify in sexual abuse cases each year and many more make claims of sexual abuse, the 1990’s witnessed an increase in research into the accuracy of young children’s memory.

Before this time there was very little consideration for the specific age range of children that are abused, for example, very few preschoolers are used in studies, (possibly due to ethical considerations) yet preschoolers report a higher number of sexual abuse cases than any other age range. The questions asked were neutral and of no personal relevance and the conditions used in the laboratory did not reflect actual cases (Ceci and Bruck, 1993 ). Therefore most research conducted before the 1990’s can be regarded as inaccurate and irrelevant.

Since then, numerous changes have been made in an attempt to give us a more accurate picture of the children’s event memory, particularly in relation to interviews. For example, more preschoolers are participants, the questions are often of a personal nature and several different interviewing devices, not just misleading questions, are incorporated into an interview.

It can easily be argued that all interviewers or researchers are biased in some way as they are trying to prove or disprove a theory, hypothesis or event. This therefore makes it very difficult to be impartial. In cases where an interviewer suspects child abuse it is particularly difficult not to be biased because of the strong feelings that this may cause. Therefore it is crucial that interviewer bias and its effect on children’s event memory are investigated.

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It is unlikely that biased interviewers will ask questions that may provide an alternate explanation for any allegations, they will not ask about events that are inconsistent with their hypothesis, they may ignore any inconsistent or bizarre information and they certainly will not challenge the authenticity of a report when it is consistent with their hypothesis.

Thompson et al (1997) investigated the effect a biased interviewer may have. Using two different interviewers, who were either consistently accusatory or neutral in tone. As the interview progressed the interviewer changed from mildly aggressive to strongly aggressive. Results showed that neutral ...

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