Misconceptions about childhood sexual abuse and child witnesses: Implications for psychological experts in the courtroom

Zajac, Rachel; Garry, Maryanne; London, Kamala; Goodyear‐Smith, Felicity; Hayne, Harlene

doi:10.1080/09658211.2013.778287

Cited by 29 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…The third sort of comment describes memory error without an appreciation of overall reliability, e.g. (Zajac, Garry, London, Goodyear-Smith, & Hayne, 2013) "…well over a century of scientific research shows that memories are surprisingly fluid and easily corrupted" (p. 614). These comments encourage an excessively pessimistic view of memory.…”

Section: Reliability Of Memorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Regaining Consensus on the Reliability of Memory

Brewin

Andrews

Mickes

2020

Curr Dir Psychol Sci

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In the last twenty years the consensus about memory being essentially reliable has been neglected in favor of an emphasis on the malleability and unreliability of memory, and on the public's supposed unawareness of this. Three claims in particular have underpinned this popular perspective: That the confidence people have in their memory is weakly related to its accuracy, that false memories of fictitious childhood events can be easily implanted, and that the public wrongly sees memory as like a video camera. New research has clarified that all three claims rest on shaky foundations, suggesting there is no reason to abandon the old consensus about memory being malleable, but essentially reliable.

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Section: Reliability Of Memorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Regaining Consensus on the Reliability of Memory

Brewin

Andrews

Mickes

2020

Curr Dir Psychol Sci

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“…For this reason, it is of paramount importance that forensic interviews are conducted according to the highest standards (see [8]). However, research shows that the quality of expert interviews and assessments varies and may sometimes be low [9,10]. This is also evidenced by the low interrater reliability among purported experts [11].…”

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confidence: 99%

Usability and Effectiveness of the Finnish Investigative Instrument of Child Sexual Abuse

Tadei¹,

Santtila²,

Antfolk³

2018

Preprint

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The Finnish Investigative Instrument of Child Sexual Abuse (FICSA) is a computerized tool that uses Bayesian statistics to estimate the probability that a reported child sex abuse (CSA) is true or false based on population level information regarding the correlates of CSA. FICSA can be used to assist decision-making in investigations of CSA. We compared forensic experts’ and students’ ability to use FICSA and whether its use affected the estimates of the probability of CSA in mock-scenarios. The use of FICSA was compared to only having access to the empirical information about CSA risk and protective factors, which FICSA is based on, and to unassisted decision-making. The 54 participants analyzed two scenarios of possible CSA and estimated the probability of the CSA allegation being true. The results show that participants using FICSA were prone to make technical mistakes that affect the correctness of the probability estimation. The performance of experts and students was equivalent in all the conditions, but in the group using FICSA, where experts tended to deviate from the probability provided by FICSA more than students. Having only access to empirical information did not improve estimates compared to unassisted decision-making. Both students and experts tended to adjust the estimates provided by FICSA downwards, that is, to decrease the probability of abuse. We conclude that FICSA can assist investigators to correctly integrate evidence and calculate probabilities but that proper training is required.

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“…This view is shared by Zajac, Garry, Goodyear‐Smith, and Hayne (2013) who pointed out that: “memory expert witnesses should provide evidence of their expertise” and “people whose primary occupation is clinical practice are not automatically qualified to give evidence on human memory” (, p. 615). This view relates to recent research showing that many psychologists and psychiatrists who serve as expert witnesses do not significantly outperform general psychologists and psychiatrists on memory issues that may be discussed in court ; ergo, these potential expert witnesses in court have sparsely and scanty knowledge of memory particularities.…”

Section: Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 98%

When Children are the Least Vulnerable to False Memories: A True Report or a Case of Autosuggestion?

Brackmann

Otgaar

Sauerland

et al. 2015

Journal of Forensic Sciences

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In this case report, a legal case revolving around the reliability of statements given by a 6-year-old girl is described. She claimed to have witnessed her mother being murdered by her father. Two psychological experts provided diametrically opposed opinions about the reliability of her statements. One expert, a clinician, opined that the girl's statements were based on autosuggestion whereas the other expert, a memory researcher, stated that autosuggestion was unlikely to have played a role. This case and the analysis of the experts' opinions illustrate what may happen when experts in court are unaware of the recent literature on (false) memory. That is, recent studies show that autosuggestion is less likely to occur in young children than in older children and adults. The current case stresses the importance and implications of relying on memory experts in cases concerning the reliability of eyewitness statements.

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Misconceptions about childhood sexual abuse and child witnesses: Implications for psychological experts in the courtroom

Cited by 29 publications

References 68 publications

Regaining Consensus on the Reliability of Memory

Regaining Consensus on the Reliability of Memory

Usability and Effectiveness of the Finnish Investigative Instrument of Child Sexual Abuse

When Children are the Least Vulnerable to False Memories: A True Report or a Case of Autosuggestion?

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