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Series:   Elements in Child Development

Children's Eyewitness Testimony and Event Memory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 June 2022

Martha E. Arterberry
Martha E. Arterberry
Affiliation:
Colby College, Maine

Summary

This Element addresses the factors that influence children's accuracy in reporting on events and draws implications for children's ability to serve as reliable eyewitnesses. The following topics are covered: short- and long-term memory for event details; memory for stressful events; memory for the temporal order of events; memory for the spatial location of events; the ways poorly worded questions or intervening events interfere with memory; and individual differences in language development, understanding right from wrong and emotions, and cognitive processes. In addition, this Element considers how potential jurors perceive children as eyewitnesses and how the findings of the research on children's event memory inform best practices for interviewing children.
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Keywords

children’s eyewitness testimonyevent memorysuggestibilitycognitive developmentjurors’ perceptions
Type
Element
Information
Series: Elements in Child Development
Online ISBN: 9781009128216
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication: 23 June 2022

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