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Write a summary on each piece of paper. Each summary will be 2-page-long, and it is no matter of one-space or double space. ._bruck___ceci.pdf ._hackman___farah_2009.pdf Unformatted Attachment Preview The Suggestibility of Young Children Author(s): Maggie Bruck and Stephen J. Ceci Source: Current Directions in Psychological Science, Vol. 6, No. 3, Memory as the Theater of the Past (Jun., 1997), pp. 75-79 Published by: Blackwell Publishing on behalf of Association for Psychological Science Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20182452 . Accessed: 24/12/2010 13:14 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTORs Terms and Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. 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Association for Psychological Science and Blackwell Publishing are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Current Directions in Psychological Science. http://www.jstor.org CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 75 The Suggestibility Br?ck and Stephen Maggie see it a biased happen?). Nor does interviewer ask about events that are inconsistent with the interview of Young Children J. Ceci1 Department of Psychology, McGill University, and Family Studies and Human Development, Ithaca, New York (S.J.C.) ers hypothesis (e.g., Who else be side your teacher touched your pri vate Did your mommy parts? touch them, too?). And a biased Montreal, Quebec (M.B.), Cornell University, the does not challenge of the childs report authenticity it is consistent with the inter when a child viewers When hypothesis. or inconsistent bizarre provides it is either ignored or in evidence, the framework of terpreted within interviewer Since the beginning of the 1980s, there have been a number of legal cases in which children young tes have provided uncorroborated sexual timony abuse. Al involving it seemed from the evi though in many of dence that the children to a these cases were subjected number of suggestive interviews, issue in deciding the primary guilt or innocence was to the degree which such interviews could actu ally bring to make children serious allegations. Until scientific data recently, into this little fo provided insight rensic issue. Specifically, although a number there were of studies are that young children showing more than adults (re suggestible viewed 1993), by Ceci & Br?ck, to ex these studies were limited aminations of the influence of on suggestions single misleading childrens recall of neutral, and of ten uninteresting, In other events. the conditions words, ies were not similar tions that court. This brought of the stud to the condi children empirical forced a new issues related research make it more to forensic issues. First, to exam the studies are designed ine childrens about suggestibility events that are personally salient, and that involve bodily touching, insinuations that involve abuse. the concept of sug has been ex techniques gestive the from view traditional panded or of asking a misleading question a piece of misinformation, planting so that now examine studies the structure and the compo larger nents In interviews. of suggestive an over this article, we provide view of the results of these newer studies of childrens suggestibility. INTERVIEWER BIAS AND SUGGESTIVE INTERVIEWING TECHNIQUES We viewer that inter proposed bias is the central driving in the creation of suggestive have interviews. Interviewer of acterizes a priori an interviewer about beliefs Ceci, S.J., & Br?ck, M. (1995). (See References) Poole, D.A., & Lindsay, D.S. (in the accuracy of press). Assessing young childrens reports: Lessons from the investigation of child sexual abuse. Applied and Preven tative Psychology. the biased rence of certain bias events char who holds the occur and, as a re to elicit the interview sult, molds statements from the interviewee that are consistent with these prior One hallmark of inter beliefs. at viewer bias is the single-minded tempt to gather only confirmatory and to avoid all avenues evidence that may produce disconfirmatory a biased inter evidence. Thus, viewer does not ask questions that alternate provide explana might tions for the allegations tell you, your mommy Copyright ? 1997 American (e.g., Did or did you Psychological Society initial hy interviewers pothesis. A number of studies highlight the effects of interviewer bias on the accuracy of childrens reports in Ceci & Br?ck, 1995). (reviewed are en In some studies, children a na in event. Later, gaged staged ive interviewers, who did not wit are ness the event, either given accurate or false information about the event and then told to question Interviewers who are the children. false given aware force Reading of sexual Second, to vacuum conceptualization to childrens suggest in turn, resulted in ibility, which, an outpouring in of new research two features of the area. In general, Recommended the newer relevant are un information of this deliberate deception, is carried out to create a which In other studies, bias. children are asked to recall a staged event an experimenter intention who by a is either bias that conveys ally or inconsistent with consistent the staged event. In both types of stud ies, when questioned by interview ers with false beliefs, children make inaccurate consistent with that reports the are interviewers biases. to our model, inter According viewer bias influences the entire ar chitecture of interviews, and it is a revealed number of dif through features that are ferent component We describe suggestive. briefly some of these in this section. In order to obtain confirmation of their viewers suspicions, not may biased ask inter children such as questions, open-ended What happened? but instead re sort to a barrage of specific ques are repeated, tions, many of which 76 VOLUME 6, NUMBER 3, JUNE 1997 are and many of which leading. This is be strategy problematic cause childrens to responses open are more accurate ended questions to specific than their responses This finding has been re questions. ported ning since consistently of the century (e.g., the begin see Ceci & Br?ck, 1995) and is highlighted in a recent and study by Peterson Bell (1996), who interviewed chil an emer dren after they visited a room traumatic for gency injury. were Children ended what more first asked open (e.g., Tell me and then asked questions happened), questions specific (e.g., did you hurt yourself? you hurt your knee?). re The children were most likely to accu the important details port to open-ended rately in response (91\% accuracy); errors in questions Where or Did creased when children were asked (45\% accuracy). specific questions Forced-choice questions (e.g., Was it black or white?) also com the reliability of childrens promise tend not because children reports to respond, I dont know (e.g., see Walker, Lunning, & Eilts, 1996), even when is nonsen the question & Grieve, 1980). (Hughes Not only does accuracy decrease are asked when children specific but there is increased questions, sical risk of taint when children young are repeatedly asked the same spe cific questions, either within the same interview or across different interviews (e.g., Poole & White, such circumstances, 1991). Under children tend to change young to provide their answers, perhaps the interviewer tion that with the informa he or she they perceive wants. Some bias and by interviewers convey their asking questions leading about information providing the alleged target events. When are repeated these techniques across multiple chil interviews, tainted. drens reports may become in one study (Br?ck, For example, & Barr, Francoeur, children visited year-old Ceci, diatrician and received 1995), 5 their pe an inocu in year later, they were four times about salient terviewed details of that visit. Children who were in a interviewed repeatedly lation. One neutral, vided nonleading manner pro accurate the reports about visit. In contrast, original were children who repeatedly misinformation about some given medical of the salient details were very in accurate; not only did they incor the misleading porate suggestions into their reports falsely (e.g., that a female research as claiming sistant, rather than the male inoculated trician, also reported accurate them), nonsuggested pedia but they but in events (e.g., falsely report ing that the female research assistant had checked their ears and nose). can also use subtle Interviewers cues to com verbal and nonverbal municate bias. At times, these cues can set the emotional tone of the and they can also con interview, or explicit threats, vey implicit bribes, and rewards for the desired answer. are attuned to Children tones and act ac these emotional In one study, for ex cordingly. were to re children asked ample, to a call the details of a visit oc that had university laboratory 4 years previously (Good & Reed, man, Wilson, Hazan, in 1989). At the 4-year follow-up the deliber researchers terview, an of ac ately created atmosphere cusation by telling the children that to be questioned about they were an important event and by saying, curred Are you afraid to tell? Youll feel better once youve told. Although few children remembered the original event from 4 years earlier, a number of the children assented to suggestive questions implying some children re abuse; falsely that they had been hugged ported or kissed, or that they had had their or taken in the bathroom, picture a that they had been given bath. Published by Cambridge University Press Thus, children may give incorrect to misleading information ques tions about events for which they have no memory, if the interviewer an creates emotional tone of accu sation. is another induction Stereotype a of component possible suggestive if a child is interview. For example, told that a person does repeatedly bad things, then the child may be to into this belief gin incorporate his or her reports. A study of pre school children illustrates this pat tern (Leichtman & Ceci, 1995). On a number menters the experi of occasions, told the children about their clumsy friend Sam Stone, whose included acciden exploits Barbie dolls and rip tally breaking sweaters. Later, Sam came to ping the childrens classroom accident-free short, visit. for a The next the chil day, the teacher showed dren a torn book and a soiled teddy bear. Several weeks later, a number of these 3- to 4-year-old Sam had children re been reported some even for these acts; sponsible claimed that they had seen him do these things. Children who had not that received the stereotype induction this type of error. rarely made that have been espe for cially designed interviewing children about sexual abuse may be potentially For ex suggestive. detailed dolls ample, anatomically are commonly used by profession als when children interviewing about suspected sexual abuse. It is that the use of the dolls thought Techniques overcomes language, memory, and motivational (e.g., embarrassment) the existing However, problems. data indicate that the dolls do not accurate In facilitate reporting. some curate cases, with children are more inac the dolls, especially certain when asked to demonstrate events that never happened (e.g., et al., 1993). Thus, dolls Gordon if children have may be suggestive not made but are any allegations sus asked by an interviewer who CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 77 abuse pects abuse to demonstrate with the dolls. Our recent studies provide evi memories of imagined events (e.g., Parker, 1995; Welch-Ross, 1995), to pretend when asked about or there are con Second, although sistent findings of age differences across studies, there are neverthe dence certain children events, imagine later come to report them as may real and believe them to be so. This less Ceci, for this hypothesis & Francoeur, 1995; & Renick, Francoeur, (Br?ck, Br?ck, Ceci, 1995). Three- and 4-year-old children had a medical examination during some of them received a which routine After genital examination. were the children interviewed about the examination, they were an doll and told, anatomical given Show me on the doll how the doc tor touched your genitals. Ap 50\% of the children proximately who had not received a genital ex amination falsely showed touching on the doll. Furthermore, when the children who had received a geni were tal examination asked the same question, a number of them showed that the doctor incorrectly a had inserted into their finger never had the genitals; pediatrician done this. Next, when the children in the study were given a stetho to scope and a spoon and asked did or might some instruments, children incorrectly showed that he to examine used the stethoscope some and their genitals, children inserted the spoon into the genital or anal or hit the dolls openings genitals. None of these actions had show what do with the doctor these We concluded that these false actions were the result of im that it was per plicit suggestions to show sexualized missible behav iors. Also, because of the novelty of the dolls, children were drawn to insert fingers and other objects into their cavities. Guided is another in imagery that is poten terviewing technique occurred. Interviewers suggestive. tially sometimes ask children to try to re if or pretend that a certain member event occurred and then to create a mental think picture of the event and to its details. Because about young difficulty memories children sometimes have between distinguishing events of actual and is supported by studies were re children young to asked think real about peatedly as well as imaginary events, creat hypothesis in which ing mental images each time they did so. In one of these studies & Br?ck, (Ceci, Loftus, Leichtman, as 1994), children increasingly to false events with each interview. When these children were told after 11 sessions that some of the imagined events sented successive had not happened, most of the chil dren who had previously assented to false beliefs to hold continued onto their false statements. These data indicate that a number of the come to be had actually lieve that they had experienced the children false events. CONCLUSIONS AND QUALIFICATIONS In summary, interviewer bias is revealed by a number of suggestive can com each of which techniques, the accuracy of young promise In this section, childrens reports. we on this and elaborate qualify conclusion several by raising points. First, although most devel studies have focused on opmental the suggestibility of preschool chil dren, there is still reason for con cern about the of older reliability childrens when testimony they are to suggestive interviews. subjected There is ample evidence that chil dren older than 6 years of age are about a wide range of suggestible events et Goodman al., 1989; (e.g., Poole & Lindsay, & 1996; Warren Lane, 1995) and that adults recol lections are impaired by suggestive interviewing techniques (e.g., Hy man & Pentland, 1996; Loftus & Pickrell, 1995). Copyright ? 1997 American Psychological Society individual preschoolers interviewers some older differences. Some are very resistant to whereas suggestions, children will immedi sug ately fall sway to the slightest are a gestion. Researchers long way from understanding the source of these individual differences but are assess to the association beginning and a num suggestibility characteristics cognitive base, memory), (e.g., knowledge factors (e.g., compli psychosocial between ber of and interview self-esteem), ing techniques (e.g., the use of vari ous suggestive components). to previous Third, contrary claims that children are suggestible details only about peripheral (e.g., newer the studies Melton, 1992), ance, are also sug children about central events. These gestible central events may involve bodily touching that may have sexual con in some suggest notations. Thus, show that children studies, ibility falsely that a nurse claimed licked their a scientist knees, put something a pedia in their mouths, yucky a trician inserted into their spoon and a man kissed their genitals, friends on the lips and removed some of the childrens clothes. the number of sugges Fourth, tive interviewing techniques (which reflects the degree of inter viewer bias) can account for varia tions in suggestibility estimates across and within If a bi studies. uses more ased interviewer than one suggestive there is a technique, greater chance for taint than if he or she uses just one technique. For we Ceci, & Hem (Br?ck, example, in press) constructed inter brooke, a views that combined of variety (visualiza suggestive techniques re tion, repeated questioning, to elicit misinformation) peated of true events childrens reports a visitor in the school, get (helping and false events ting punished) 78 VOLUME 6, NUMBER 3, JUNE 1997 a woman find her mon (helping a thief taking food from key, seeing the day care). After two suggestive most in this children interviews, to all had assented events, a study to the end of that continued pattern of utterance, tails, the spontaneity not previ the number of details in (reminiscences), ously reported across narratives, the consistency and elaborativeness of the details, the cohesiveness It of the narrative. the experiment. in the procedures used Fifth, most studies do not allow one to if the childrens false re determine is only the greater consistency of narratives of true events that differ reflect false belief (false com or merely knowing memory) sugges pliance to the interviewers tion. There may be a time course ports for the emergence states. Children of these different start out may to sugges complying knowingly tions, but with repeated suggestive come to be interviews, they may and incorpo lieve the suggestions rate into them There are a few their memories. that show studies are repeated that when suggestions to children over time, a number of false be the children do develop et liefs (e.g., Ceci al., 1994; Leicht man & Ceci, 1995; Poole & Lindsay, if the sugges 1996). Furthermore, cease for a period of tive interviews fade time, these false memories & Ceci, Crossman, (e.g., Huffman, 1996; Poole & Lindsay, 1996). Sixth, children who have under inter gone repeated suggestive views credible. appear highly When trained professionals highly in the fields of child development, and forensics view mental health, interviews of these videotaped cannot reliably dis subjects, they criminate between children whose and children reports are accurate are as the inaccurate whose reports result of interviewing suggestive & Ceci, (see Leichtman techniques to We isolate have 1995). attempted that might the linguistic markers true narratives from differentiate false narratives that emerge as a re inter sult of repeated suggestive et in views al., (Br?ck press). We have found that with repeated sug false ... Purchase answer to see full attachment