Question types, responsiveness, and self-contradictions when prosecutors and defence attorneys question alleged victims of sexual abuse.
| dc.contributor.author | Andrews, S. J., Lamb, M. E., & Lyon, T. D. | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2015-01-26T16:43:34Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2015-01-26T16:43:34Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2014 | |
| dc.description.abstract | We examined 120 trial transcripts of 6- to 12-year-old children testifying to sexual abuse. Age and attorney role were analyzed in relation to question types, children’s responsiveness, and self-contradiction frequency. A total of 48,716 question-response pairs were identified. Attorneys used more closed-ended than open-ended prompts. Prosecutors used more invitations (3% vs. 0%), directives and option-posing prompts than defence attorneys, who used more suggestive prompts than prosecutors. Children were more unresponsive to defence attorneys than to prosecutors. Self-contradictions were identified in 95% of the cases. Defence attorneys elicited more self-contradictions than prosecutors, but nearly all prosecutors (86%) elicited at least one self-contradiction. Suggestive questions elicited more self-contradictions than any other prompt type. There were no associations with age. These findings suggest that neither prosecutors nor defence attorneys question children in developmentally appropriate ways. (Author Abstract) | en_US |
| dc.identifier.citation | Andrews, S. J., Lamb, M. E., & Lyon, T. D. (2014). Question Types, Responsiveness and Self‐contradictions when Prosecutors and Defense Attorneys Question Alleged Victims of Child Sexual Abuse. Applied Cognitive Psychology. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1123&context=thomaslyon | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11212/2102 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Applied Cognitive Psychology. | en_US |
| dc.subject | child abuse | en_US |
| dc.subject | child sexual abuse | en_US |
| dc.subject | court | en_US |
| dc.subject | testimony | en_US |
| dc.subject | International Resources | en_US |
| dc.subject | England | en_US |
| dc.title | Question types, responsiveness, and self-contradictions when prosecutors and defence attorneys question alleged victims of sexual abuse. | en_US |
| dc.type | Article | en_US |