The Effects Of Children'S Age and Delay on Recall in a Cognitive or Structured Interview

The study examined; (i) whether the enhanced cognitive interview (ECI) would aid event recall when used with children, (ii) whether the effects of a delay between the witnessed event and interview would have an impact on the effectiveness of the ECI, (iii) whether the age of the child would have a b...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychology, crime & law crime & law, 2003-01, Vol.9 (1), p.97-107
Main Authors: Akehurst, Lucy, Milne, Rebecca, Ko¨hnken, Gunter
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Children
Cognitive Interview
Delay
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The study examined; (i) whether the enhanced cognitive interview (ECI) would aid event recall when used with children, (ii) whether the effects of a delay between the witnessed event and interview would have an impact on the effectiveness of the ECI, (iii) whether the age of the child would have a bearing on the effectiveness of the ECI, and (iv) which category(ies) of event recall might be effected. Thirty-two 8 to 9 year old children and thirty-two 11 to 12 year old children were shown a video recording of a staged shoplifting. Half were interviewed four hours after viewing the event and half after a six day delay. Children were interviewed individually using either the ECI or a structured interview (SI). Those interviewed using the ECI recalled significantly more correct details (especially detail pertaining to actions) with no increase in the reporting of erroneous information. The ECI was found to be a reliable interviewing technique regardless of age and delay.
ISSN:1068-316X
1477-2744
DOI:10.1080/10683160308140