Lawyers Know This: Emotional Testimony By Kids Is Perceived As More Credible
Monday, March 31, 2014 - 15:05
in Psychology & Sociology
In a psychology experiment, two young actors (one girl and one boy) portrayed victims in a mock-police investigation. They were questioned by the police about how they had been harassed by older schoolmates. The police interviews were videotaped in two versions: In one version the children appeared in a neutral manner but in the other version, the children showed clear signs of distress, as they sobbed and hesitated before answering the police officers' questions. The films were later shown and assessed by law students that were familiar with the Supreme Court's criteria for how to assess the credibility of testimonies. read more