TY - JOUR
T1 - Jurors' Reactions to Child Witnesses
AU - Goodman, Gail S.
AU - Golding, Jonathan M.
AU - Haith, Marshall M.
PY - 1984
Y1 - 1984
N2 - Adults often do not know when to believe children. There are few places where this uncertainty is more consequential than in a court of law where jurors may be forced to base their verdict largely on the testimony of children. Legal and cultural stereotypes undermine children's credibility as witnesses by portraying them as basically honest but highly manipulable, unable to differentiate fantasy from reality, and lacking in cognitive sophistication. In this article, we review juror, witness, and courtroom factors that influence a child's credibility. We also present the results of our own studies on reactions to child witnesses. 1984 The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues
AB - Adults often do not know when to believe children. There are few places where this uncertainty is more consequential than in a court of law where jurors may be forced to base their verdict largely on the testimony of children. Legal and cultural stereotypes undermine children's credibility as witnesses by portraying them as basically honest but highly manipulable, unable to differentiate fantasy from reality, and lacking in cognitive sophistication. In this article, we review juror, witness, and courtroom factors that influence a child's credibility. We also present the results of our own studies on reactions to child witnesses. 1984 The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues
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U2 - 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1984.tb01098.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1984.tb01098.x
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84993601655
SN - 0022-4537
VL - 40
SP - 139
EP - 156
JO - Journal of Social Issues
JF - Journal of Social Issues
IS - 2
ER -