Question

What do psychologists know about reliability of childhood testimony

Answer 1

What do psychologists know about reliability of childhood testimony

The reliability of the the eye witnesses have always been a questionable aspect. Reliability depends on :

- memory capacity of the children.

- susceptibility of the children to suggestions

- delay between providing the the statement.

Psychologists say that if the delay in reporting of the crime would be in a reasonable frame of time, this eye witness can be relied on. Also, the questions that are being presented to the children should not be suggestive. Also, if eye witness reports are provided by older children, they would be considered to be more reliable, as compared to the younger children. Also, reliability of the eye witness provided by children could be increased if relevant objects or cues would be present, that were present at the incident time, such that these would act as evidences. If these factors are kept in mind, children with eye witness would be providing reliable statements, which would help in rightful convictions.