Witnesses' event recall and the realism in their evaluation of the correctness of their recall are of great importance in forensic processes. These issues were investigated in the present study by use of calibration methodology. More specifically, we analyzed the effects of two recalls of the same event (repetition) and of probes (non-informative followup questions at recall) on 9-11 year-old children's and adults' open free recall and the degree of realism in the participants' confidence judgments of the correctness of the recall after they had seen a short video clip. The findings were that repetition resulted in more units recalled both for children and for adults, and in that the children showed higher overconfidence compared with one recall, but not the adults. Moreover, when only the statements in the repetition conditions that were recalled twice were included in the analysis, higher confidence was found for the children (independent of an increase in the proportion correct statements of all statements) but not for the adults. Probing increased the number of units recalled for both children and adults, decreased the children's proportion correct statements but not the adults', decreased both children's and adults' confidence and increased the children's overconfidence, but not the adults'. Finally, the combination of two recalls and probing disrupted the children's but not the adults' metacognitive performance.

This randomized trial compared the effects of imagery rescripting against in vivo exposure administered separately during a single session with 27 socially anxious individuals. Previous research shows that imagery rescripting is a promising treatment technique for various disorders including social anxiety, although imagery rescripting and exposure for social anxiety have not yet been compared. Social anxiety self-report measures (LSAS-SR and BFNE-II); the distress, vividness, and frequency of fear images (i.e., Imagery condition); and the levels of anxiety, avoidance, and the strength of convictions of a feared social situation (i.e., exposure condition) were rated at baseline, before treatment, and after a 2- and 4-week follow up period. Both treatment groups improved significantly on all measures pre- to post treatment and the effects largely remained at the 4-week follow-up. No significant differences between the treatment groups were found on the anxiety measures. The results suggest that either a single session of imagery rescripting or of exposure are effective in reducing social anxiety, and that both treatment techniques, even when administered in a single session, reduces social anxiety.

A B S T R A C TThe opinions of legal professionals about child and adult witnesses might influence the likelihood that a case is allowed to proceed through the different stages of the legal process. With the aim of knowing the opinions of legal practitioners about child and adult witnesses, 84 legal professionals (Swedish police, prosecutors, and attorneys) were surveyed about their beliefs about child and adult eyewitness memory (and metamemory) abilities. The respondents answered 27 questions relating to nine forensically relevant belief areas in which they compared the memory ability of children (ages 7 to 11 years) and adults. The results showed no differences in assessment among members of different professions and a general trend suggesting that, across the professions, children were believed to be poorer witnesses than adults regarding their memory abilities. Moreover, the professionals' within-group consensus was very low. These results are discussed in the context of eyewitness research findings and with respect to the implications for both legal and research practice.Opiniones de los profesionales del derecho: comparación de la capacidad para el informe de memoria de testigos niños y adultos R E S U M E N Las opiniones de los profesionales del derecho sobre los testimonios de niños y adultos podrían influir en la probabilidad de que un caso prospere en las diferentes etapas del procedimiento legal. Con el objetivo de conocer las opiniones de los actores legales y judiciales sobre los testimonios de niños y adultos, se encuestó a 84 abogados, fiscales y policías suecos sobre sus creencias acerca de las habilidades de memoria (y metamemoria) de niños y adultos testigos presenciales. Los participantes respondieron a 27 preguntas relativas a 9 áreas de creencias relevantes para la práctica forense en las que informaban sobre las habilidades de memoria de los niños (de 7 a 11 años) y adultos. Los resultados no mostraron diferencias inter-profesiones pero sí una tendencia general que sugiere, en la muestra global, que se percibía a los niños con peores habilidades de memoria a la hora de prestar testimonio que a los adultos. No obstante, el grado de consenso intra-grupo resultó muy bajo. Se discuten las implicaciones de los resultados para la investigación sobre el testimonio presencial y la práctica legal y judicial.

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Legal professionals' opinions about the memory abilities of child and adult witnesses are important in the legal process. We surveyed 266 legal professionals (Swedish police, prosecutors, and attorneys) and 33 lay judges about their beliefs about child and adult eyewitnesses' recall and metacognitive abilities. Prior research has usually asked for direct comparisons of children and adults but this may be rare in forensic practice. The respondents completed a story questionnaire (about a 9-or 45-year-old person witnessing an event), allowing indirect, or researcher-made, comparisons. In contrast to previous research (direct comparisons), our participants mostly rated children and adults to be on an equal level, but within-group consensus was low. Also, fairly few differences emerged between the groups' beliefs. Finally, the participants' opinions in our study were less in line with results from eyewitness research, compared with previous research using direct comparisons. Implications for legal and research practice are discussed.