Jeopardy in the Courtroom: A Scientific Analysis of Children's Testimony
Search in google:
The credibility of children's testimony is a highly debated topic in America's courtrooms, universities, and living rooms. Does the ingenuousness of children assure that their testimony will always be truthful? Or are children easily misled by overzealous investigators and therapists into making untrue allegations? Stephen J. Ceci and Maggie Bruck contend that the truth falls somewhere between these extremes. Using case studies ranging from the Salem Witch Hunt to the Little Rascals Day Care case to illustrate their argument, Jeopardy in the Courtroom draws from the vast corpus of scientific research to clarify what is most relevant for evaluating and understanding children's statements made in the legal arena.
PrefaceCh. 1Introduction1Ch. 2Children as Witnesses: Seven Case Descriptions7Ch. 3Assessing the Scope and Characteristics of Child Sexual Abuse21Ch. 4Defining Memory and Suggestibility39Ch. 5Legal and Behavioral Approaches to Children's Suggestibility: 1900-198547Ch. 6The Recent Past: Changes in Legal and Behavioral Approaches63Ch. 7The Architecture of Interviews With Children75Ch. 8The Role of Interviewer Bias87Ch. 9The Effects of Repeated Questioning107Ch. 10Stereotype Induction: A Suggestive Interviewing Technique127Ch. 11Other Suggestive Interviewing Techniques139Ch. 12The Pros and (Mostly) Cons of Using Anatomically Detailed Dolls161Ch. 13The Evidence for Delayed Recall of Childhood Sexual Abuse187Ch. 14The Role of Suggestion in Delayed Recall of Child Sexual Abuse211Ch. 15Age Differences in the Reliability of Reports233Ch. 16Mechanisms That May Account For Age Differences in Suggestibility253Ch. 17Ethical and Professional Issues269Ch. 18In Conclusion295References305Author Index327Subject Index333About the Authors337
