What is the most difficult question for a forensic psychologist to answer correctly quizlet?

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-AD props
---used in 1/2 of all suspected child abuse cases
---effectiveness inconclusive, increases false allegations with children under 6, but Bruck et al found that they may also increase true allegations
---children under 3.5 dont know how to use them, having genitals on the dolls may increase false reports, use can result in distortions and inaccuracies
---may engage in pretend play (can't differentiate between reality and play), are more accurate when showing on their real bodies
---Used because they may help overcome language and memory barriers, can be used for assessment investigation and prosecution, harder to coach how to touch a doll
---How to use--> not to make an initial diagnosis, trained mental health professionals about proper interview techniques and limitations, recorded interviews
---In the courtroom--> lack of standardization and use does not provide additional information beyond the interview, may cause the child to provide fewer and less detailed responses (Lamb et al)
-Group therapy
---Prior to interview --> contamination of information due to confusion of memory, may increase coaching
-Delays between reports and interviews*
---may forget important details, parents/caregivers may use suggestive questioning styles first
-Repeated and biased interviewing*
---when asked several times, children may change answer to what they think the interviewer wants to hear
---biased interviews may delegitimate the story, cause false allegations, and confuse the children

-Memories and cognition
---The ability to encode, store, and retrieve information is not readily developed in young children
---Under the age of 6, children have difficulties distinguishing real and imagined events
---How children are interviewed can influence the information they provide
-----Greater risk of inaccuracies when suggestive and biased questioning is used
-NICHD Investigative Interview Protocol
-guides interviewer away from biased q, avoids suggestive q, uses open ended prompts, uses 3 phases (intro, rapport building, substantive), and records interview
-Ground rules with significant research support
1.Don't know instruction - "One rule is that we don't guess. If I ask you a question and you don't know the answer, then just say 'I don't know'" (example from book)
---Telling children "I may try to trick you" and "It's OK to say 'I don't know'" helps to decrease their suggestibility (Goodman et al., 1991)
---Even very young children (3- to 4- year-olds) benefit from these warnings, although less so than for older children (Cordon et al., 2005)
2.Oath to tell the truth - "It's very important that you tell me the truth. Can you promise that you will tell the truth?" (example from book)
3.Explicit statement indicating that the adult interviewer does not know what happened
-HOT TOPIC: CSA Accommodation Syndrome
-Child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome (CSAAS; Summit, 1983, 1998). Victims experience feelings of helplessness, confusion, and fear which leads to
---Delayed abuse disclosure
---Denial of abuse
---Recantation of abuse allegations after initial claims
-Empirical findings
---Delayed abuse disclosure
---Denial of abuse is unusual
---Recantation is unusual
---Recanting children are more likely to have suffered parental abuse

-Assessing Competency to Testify
-Psychologists assess children's competency to testify
-In order to be considered competent to testify, child witnesses must have, Sufficient memory, The capacity to communicate, The ability to differentiate the truth from a lie (reality from fantasy), The understanding of the obligation to tell the truth
-Testimony by Children at Trial
-Jurors believe children in sexual abuse cases
-Young children are more likely to be believed than adolescents
---Perhaps because jurors believe that children are less sophisticated about sexual matters and would be unable to make a false allegation (Bottoms & Goodman, 1994; Goodman, 1996)
-Due to the intimidating (and sometimes traumatizing) experience for children testifying in court, hearsay testimony (typically not allowed in court) is allowed by most states (all but 8)
---Adult stand-ins are often acceptable (e.g., parent, caregiver, physician, teacher)
-Hearsay and adult testimony is viewed favorably by jurors
---Adult testimony is often more consistent and complete
-CCTV
-alternative to testify in court to protect from emotional harm
---Can reduce child's emotional distress, child can provide more accurate testimony (Goodman et al., 1998)
---Judge, jury, defendant can still see and hear child's testimony
---Conviction rate is not lowered (Goodman et al., 1998)
---However, some may perceive the child as less confident and credible than children who testify in court (Landstrom & Granhag, 2010)
-Testifying in the Courtroom
-Children are often treated like adults in the courtroom
---"In the McMartin Preschool trial, one child was questioned by the prosecutor for one-half hour and then cross-examined by a defense attorney for 15 ½ hours." (Fulero & Wrightsman, 2009, p.190)
-Complex language is used
---A four-year old witness was asked "On the evening of January 3rd, you did, didn't you visit your grandmother's sister's house and did you not see the defendant leave the house at 7:30 pm after which you stayed the night?" (Myers, Saywitz, & Goodman, 1996, p. 52)

-1990s
-transfer of juveniles to adult court allowed for serious offenses
-Competence of juveniles is controversial--> intellectual immaturity (lack understanding of legal system and/or to effectively interact with attorney), frontal lobes still developing (poor impulse control, judgment and decision making), more apt to confess, abilities may depend on age of juveniles.
-CST criteria similar to adult's
-Grisso et al
-CST-related abilities are significantly different between juveniles and young adults
-11-13 yr olds more likely than older children to have deficits in CST, to confess, and to accept a plea bargain
-NOW
-new requirements in many states for transfer of juvenile offenders to adult court (statutory exclusions for certain serious crimes, like murder)
-current research suggests juvenile transfers are ineffective in deterring commission of future crimes
-CST Evals
-Some suggest they should occur automatically for juveniles if they are 12 or younger, previously diagnosed with development disorder, learning disability or mental illness, is of low or borderline intelligence, and show deficit in attention, memory, or understanding of reality.

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