Social psychologists have identified the language used in interviews and interrogations as problematic. Consequently, those subject to police interrogations are susceptible to coercive tactics and demanding language that causes a recollection of modified memories in response to leading dialect. Sadly, there is a group that is particularly vulnerable to interrogative language. Compared to adults, children are particularly vulnerable to the demanding nature of the interview context. This is due to the fact that if a previously asked question is asked again, a young child or adolescent is likely to change his or her answer even if the first response was correct (Schneider et al., 2012). This poses a variety of implications for the processes of the criminal justice system, as, coercing a child into a false confession is easily done and may result in false testimony that could put an innocent person behind bars, or exonerate guilty parties.
As previously mentioned, compared to older children and adults, young children are particularly susceptible to suggestive influences when it related to recalling events related to trauma or stressful events (Brackmann et al., 2016). In a courtroom setting, when children must testify and are the sole witnesses in cases, namely sexual assault cases, the validity of the child’s testimony is especially important to determine a proper and just verdict for the accused. In past research, children’s susceptibility to the injection of false memories has been evaluated and consistently verified. In fact, there is extensive evidence to substantiate that negative and traumatic events are preserved in a child’s memory when no suggestive pressure is involved (Backmann, 2016). Hence, researcher’s Brackmann, Otgarr, Saurland, and Jelicic (2016) reported that young children are at greater risk of conformity to suggestive pressure and are more likely to change their accounts and report false details when given repeated questioning than older children and young adults.
On the other hand, it is important to identify the age-related patterns of children when it comes to the formation of false memories due to the testimony and suggestions of others. According to Ronford, Chen, and Harris (2018), two and three-year-olds will likely display a strong bias in trusting the information that others relay to them. Even, if the adult has misled or gave them false information in the past. Though, this phenomenon of blind-trust decreases with age. From elementary aged children and beyond, children have demonstrated a higher incidence of questioning the testimony of others and counterintuitive claims. In turn, with increased age, he or she is less likely to rely on the claims of others made verbatim (Ronford et al., 2018).
Furthermore, other means of children giving false testimony exist and have to do with a child that may engage in lie-telling and eliciting a false-confession when reporting the transgressive behavior of an adult to protect them from exposure of wrongdoings (Saykaly et al., 2016). By age eight, children are able to maintain their lies and provide plausible information in support of them. This ability for children to cognitively evolve requires that interview process rely on more than a series of interview and follow up questions to expose false statements and testimonies in children. More specifically, a strategy of questioning children that forces them to maintain their true and false reports in chronological and reverse orders are better methods at exposing their truths and falsities (Saykaly et al., 2016).
Finally, age prevails as one of the most pertinent implications that interfere with a child’s ability to appropriately recall memories- whether it be linguistic barriers or an increased trust in adults and susceptibility to their influence. With age, this susceptibility will likely decrease. However, during police interrogations, it is vital that the age and developmental trajectory of the child be taken into account. Overall, questioning strategies should be adapted to appropriately fit the cognitive capacity of the child in order to receive accurate testimony. Oftentimes in sexual abuse cases, young children display linguistic barriers, and will not immediately provide detail on the traumatic event. In such cases, nonverbal aids may be helpful to elicit accurate information from the child (Otgaar et al., 2016). Therefore, it becomes essential that police interrogations adopt more dynamic methods for questioning children to avoid influencing and eliciting false confessions that have repercussions for the accused, the child, the integrity of the justice system, and society as a whole.
References
Brackmann, N., Otgaar, H., Sauerland, M., & Jelicic, M. (2016). When children are the least vulnerable to false memories: A true report or a case of autosuggestion? Journal of Forensic Sciences, 61, S271-S275. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.1111/1556-4029.12926
Otgaar, H., van Ansem, R., Pauw, C., & Horselenberg, R. (2016). Improving children’s interviewing methods? the effects of drawing and practice on children’s memories for an event. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 31(4), 279-287. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.1007/s11896-016-9190-0
Ronfard, S., Chen, E. E., & Harris, P. L. (2018). The emergence of the empirical stance: Children’s testing of counterintuitive claims. Developmental Psychology, 54(3), 482-493. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.1037/dev0000455
Saykaly, C., Crossman, A., Morris, M., & Talwar, V. (2016). Question type and its effect on children ‘ s maintenance and accuracy during courtroom testimony.Journal of Forensic Practice, 18(2), 104-117. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.1108/JFP-01-2015-0010
Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., and Coutts, L. M. (Eds.). (2012). Applied Social Psychology. Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.