Children as Witnesses: Remembering, Reporting, and Reliability

Abstract

Children's ability to provide detailed and accurate testimony about their experiences has been of interest to developmental and applied cognitive scientists for several decades. In this review, we consider how the contributions of both the child and the interviewer must be considered in tandem when evaluating the reliability of the child's testimony. We consider important aspects of children's cognitive and social development that underpin their contributions in forensic interviews as well as interviewer behavior that might enhance or undermine the quality of children's testimony. We outline important emerging (and continuing) issues for researchers working in this area. Researchers around the globe recognize that young people can be reliable witnesses although, as with adults, their ability to do so is influenced by the convergence of a number of different factors, the most important of which are the ways in which they are questioned about their experiences.