Doctoral Dissertation Research: He Said, She Said: Can Jurors Accurately Evaluate Hearsay Evidence?

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9409681 THOMPSON This research is a series of experiments examining the ability of people to evaluate the accuracy of hearsay evidence about out-of- court statements by children. The project will first examine factors that affect the accuracy of testimony by an adult witness regarding a child's statements, focusing particularly on the effects of witness preconceptions and on the ability of the witness to take into account the effects of suggestive techniques used in interviewing children. Sesondly, the study will test the ability of people to evaluate the testimony of the adult hearsay witnesses, focusing on whether they take into account factors known to influence the reliability of hearsay witnesses. These studies cast light on important theoretical issues concerning the accuracy of cascaded inference in jurisprudence. They will also have considerable practical value by illuminating the cognitive factors that underly the ability of people to evaluate the accuracy of hearsay evidence. ***