The effect of forced-choice questions on children's suggestibility: A comparison of multiple-choice and yes/no questions.

Rocha, Elizabete M.; Marche, Tammy A.; Briere, Jennifer L.

doi:10.1037/a0028507

Cited by 33 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…When asked yes/no questions, they tend to provide unelaborated ‘yes’ and ‘no’ responses (Stolzenberg & Lyon, 2014). When asked forced-choice questions, they tend to simply choose one of the responses, even when neither response is correct (Peterson & Grant, 2001; Rocha, Marche, & Briere, 2013). Even when they don’t know the answer, they will answer yes/no and forced-choice questions rather than give don’t know responses (Memon & Vartoukian, 1996; Poole & Lindsay, 2001; Rudy & Goodman, 1991).…”

Section: The Significance Of Question Type: Misunderstanding and Undementioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial language, question type, and young children’s ability to describe clothing: Legal and developmental implications.

Stolzenberg¹,

McWilliams²,

Lyon³

2017

Law and Human Behavior

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Children’s descriptions of clothing placement and touching with respect to clothing are central to assessing child sexual abuse allegations. This study examined children’s ability to answer the types of questions attorneys and interviewers typically ask about clothing, using the most common spatial terms (on/off, outside/inside, over/under). Ninety-seven 3- to 6-year-olds were asked yes/no (e.g. “Is the shirt on?”), forced-choice (e.g., “Is the shirt on or off?”), open-choice (e.g., “Is the shirt on or off or something else?”), or where questions (e.g., “Where is the shirt?”) about clothing using a human figurine, clothing, and stickers. Across question types, children generally did well with simple clothing or sticker placement (e.g. pants completely on), except for yes/no questions about “over,” suggesting children had an underinclusive understanding of the word. When clothing or sticker placement was intermediate (e.g., pants around ankles, and therefore neither completely on nor off), children performed poorly except when asked where questions. A similar task using only stickers and boxes, analogous to forensic interviewers’ assessments of children’s understanding, was only weakly predictive of children’s ability to describe clothing. The results suggest that common methods of questioning young children about clothing may lead to substantial misinterpretation.

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Section: The Significance Of Question Type: Misunderstanding and Undementioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial language, question type, and young children’s ability to describe clothing: Legal and developmental implications.

Stolzenberg¹,

McWilliams²,

Lyon³

2017

Law and Human Behavior

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“…As Rocha et al . () point out, however, the ‘something else’ option has not been empirically tested. Therefore, it is unknown whether children often (or appropriately) choose the ‘something else’ option.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Children's formal reticence suggests that their misleading answers to questions about clothing will extend to forced-choice questions, that is questions that provide options conjoined with 'or', such as 'Were your clothes on off?'). When asked forced-choice questions, young children tend to choose one of the responses, even when neither response is correct (Peterson & Grant, 2001;Rocha, Marche, & Briere, 2013). Children exhibit these response tendencies even when they do not know the answers to the questions; that is, they are disinclined to provide 'I don't know' answers to yes/no and forced-choice questions (Memon & Vartoukian, 1996;Poole & Lindsay, 2001;Rudy & Goodman, 1991).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Where were your clothes?’ Eliciting descriptions of clothing placement from children alleging sexual abuse in criminal trials and forensic interviews

Stolzenberg

Lyon

2016

Legal Criminol Psychol

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Purpose The present study examined how children alleging sexual abuse are asked about clothing placement during abusive episodes, both in criminal trials and forensic interviews. The placement of clothing is of great importance, because it facilitates distinguishing abusive touch from non-abusive touch, as well as the severity of abuse when the touching is in fact sexual. If clothing has not been removed, then sexual abuse appears less likely and certain types of sexual contact are physically impossible (or at least highly improbable). Methods We examined how trial attorneys (n = 142) and forensic interviewers in investigative interviews (n = 155) questioned 5- 12-year-olds about the location of clothing during alleged sexual abuse. To do so, we identified all question-answer pairs that included references to clothing placement, and coded for the clothing item mentioned, whether the interviewer elicited information about clothing placement or the child spontaneously provided such information, question-type, and response-type. Results Discussions about clothing placement were commonplace in both settings, particularly in court. Fewer than one in five question-answer pairs about clothing placement were spontaneous mentions by children; the questioner elicited most discussions. When interviewers asked wh- questions rather than yes/no and forced-choice questions, children provided more elaboration, more detailed clothing information, and were over six times more likely to describe clothing placement in a fashion that could not be captured by a single preposition (e.g., neither on nor off). Conclusions The findings suggest that descriptions of clothing placement are subject to serious misinterpretation when closed-ended questions are asked.

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“…The use of multiple choice questions limited the ability of the questionnaire to capture the complexity of occupation as it reduced the correct response to a single best answer 17,37 . Some questions were leading in nature, and responses may therefore not have been a true reflection of participants' knowledge and attitudes 37 . A further concern arose during the marking process, where the expectancy effect 38 may have influenced the reliability of scores assigned by raters.…”

Section: Strengths and Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Time constraints did not permit piloting of the final questionnaire and therefore it is not known whether the test-retest reliability for section C improved after revisions were made following the pilot study. The use of multiple choice questions limited the ability of the questionnaire to capture the complexity of occupation as it reduced the correct response to a single best answer 17,37 . Some questions were leading in nature, and responses may therefore not have been a true reflection of participants' knowledge and attitudes 37 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of two modules on first year occupational therapy students' knowledge and attitudes to the core constructs of occupation

Green

Hudson

Wicht

et al. 2015

S. Afr. j. occup. ther

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Introduction: The first year occupational therapy course at the University of Cape Town focusses on developing an understanding of occupation. Two first semester modules form the foundation for this understanding. This study aimed to describe the impact of these modules on first year students' knowledge of, and attitudes towards, the core constructs of occupation. Methodology: A pre-experimental one-group pre-test post-test design was used with a convenience sample recruited from the 2013 first year occupational therapy class. A self-administered questionnaire was developed for the study based on an extensive literature review and consultation with international occupational therapy experts. Data were gathered before and after participating in the modules. Content and construct validity, test-retest and inter-rater reliability were determined using the expert panel and a pilot test. Data were analysed with STATISTICA. Results: Forty-five (N=60) participants completed pre-test and post-test questionnaires and were included in the analysis. Knowledge improved significantly (p<0.001) between pre-test and post-test, and positive attitudinal changes were noted.Conclusion: Knowledge and attitudes improved after completing the modules suggesting that students were equipped with a sound foundational understanding of the core constructs of occupation. With the shift to an occupation-based approach, occupational therapy researchers have sought to understand the complexity of occupation and articulate its constructs clearly 1,9 . While different theorists understand the term 'occupation' from varying angles, all highlight similar aspects within their definitions, namely who is involved, where it takes place, what is done and how it is experienced. These aspects align with Nelson's 4,5 constructs of occupation which he terms 'developmental structure', 'occupational form', 'occupational performance' and 'meaning'. However, ambiguity continues to surround the term 'occupation' 10 which creates uncertainty about professional identity and blurs the boundaries between occupational therapy and other professions 11,12 . As students are particularly susceptible to this confusion, occupation-based practice should be emphasised in educational curricula to ensure the development of a strong professional identity and a sound understanding of the importance of occupation 12 . To this end, learning tasks to assist the exploration of occupation and its multiple constructs are introduced from first year to ensure that students develop the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes required for practice. To this end, first year occupational therapy students at UCT are exposed to a variety of definitions and theories of occupation within the Basic Concepts of Human Occupation and Artforms modules, with an emphasis on Nelson's work. However, as Nelson argued that his conceptualisation of occupation aligns with that of other theorists 5 , it is possible that these modules may equip students with a broad understanding of occupation that...

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The effect of forced-choice questions on children's suggestibility: A comparison of multiple-choice and yes/no questions.

Cited by 33 publications

References 66 publications

Spatial language, question type, and young children’s ability to describe clothing: Legal and developmental implications.

Spatial language, question type, and young children’s ability to describe clothing: Legal and developmental implications.

‘Where were your clothes?’ Eliciting descriptions of clothing placement from children alleging sexual abuse in criminal trials and forensic interviews

The impact of two modules on first year occupational therapy students' knowledge and attitudes to the core constructs of occupation

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