Publication Date

1-1-2011

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Luckner, Amy

Degree Name

B.A. (Bachelor of Arts)

Legacy Department

Department of Psychology

Abstract

In a court of law, the issue of a child giving an eyewitness account has been debated among professionals. There is a significant amount of evidence suggesting that children are unable to give a reliable account. Their cognitive ability to perceive a questionable situation is not fully developed, and neither is their ability to recall memories. In order to examine the different variables surrounding this issue, a literature review was conducted. The results of numerous studies suggest that although children may not be the most reliable witnesses, sometimes they are the only witnesses. The following literature review discusses the conditions under which children give the best recall, and under which they give the worst. Future policies regarding protection of children in the legal context, and all others involved in court cases involving children, may be shaped from research such as this.

Extent

21 pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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