The Accuracy, Credibility, and Impact of Children's Eyewitness Testimony

越来越多的孩子站出来作为法律的目击者 诉讼 到目前为止，研究结果是有启发性的，但不是决定性的。 儿童可能是不可靠的记忆来源， 陪审员。 然而，以前的研究很少关注儿童的 对法律现实事件的记忆，或检查成年人对法律现实事件的反应。 有目击者报告说有孩子 Leippe博士计划完成 这两项任务都是通过精心策划的研究计划完成的， 包括模拟实验。 在第一组研究中，首先 小学生、五年级学生和大学生在录像带上观看盗窃案 然后试图找出肇事者并提供口头报告 同时也被录了下来 “主题报告” 被出示给成年“主体陪审员”，由他们判断其准确性， “递送方式”（例如，信心、一致性）。 根据陪审员的 评估、训练有素的观察员的评级和业绩指数， 证人的准确性，分析解决了什么占实际和感知 年龄差异的见证 在第二组研究中，主题- 陪审员，从大学和陪审团合格的人口，提出 包括第一次研究的证词的审判。 这些 实验的目的是隔离诸如证人年龄， 证词的效力，以及对陪审团的合理怀疑说明 行为 这项研究计划将大大有助于 科学认识儿童证词的准确性及其对儿童的影响 在法庭上的影响。 通过查看 儿童证人作为信息来源，陪审团作为 这些信息的接收者，Leippe博士汇集了 信息处理和说服的理论工作， 解释一个基本的法律的现象--陪审员信念的成因， 不相信证词。

More and more children come forth as eyewitnesses in legal proceedings. To date research findings are suggestive but inconclusive that children may be unreliable memory sources and be perceived as such by jurors. Previous studies, however, have seldom focused on children's memory for legally realistic events or examined adults' reactions to the actual eyewitness reports of children. Dr. Leippe plans to accomplish both of those tasks through a carefully planned program of research, including simulation experiments. In a first set of studies, first graders, fifth graders, and college students watch a theft on videotape and then attempt to identify the perpetrator and provide verbal reports of the crime while also being taped. The "subject-witnesses'" reports are shown to adult "subject-jurors" who judge their accuracy and "delivery style" (e.g., confidence, consistency). Based on jurors' assessments, trained observers' ratings, and performance indices of witness accuracy, analyses address what accounts for actual and perceived age differences in testimony. In a second set of studies, subject- jurors, drawn from college and jury eligible populations, are presented with trials that include testimony from the first studies. These experiments aim to isolate the effects of such factors as age of witness, strength of testimony, and reasonable doubt instructions on jury behavior. This program of research should contribute substantially to a scientific understanding of the accuracy of children's testimony and its impact in court. By viewing the child witness as a source of information and the jury as a receiver of such information, Dr. Leippe brings together theoretical work on information processing and persuasion to explain a basic legal phenomena--the causes of juror belief and disbelief in testimony.