Deck 11: Forensic Interviewing of Children

Question 1

The goal of forensic interviewing is to elicit information to be used

A) for treatment purposes
B) for prevention programs
C) in legal settings
D) all of the above

Answer 1

in legal settings

Question 2

The Federal Rule of Evidence 601

A) abolished the competency rules for witnesses
B) said that children could not provide uncorroborated testimony in court
C) ruled that children were not competent to provide testimony in court
D) expanded hearsay testimony allowances

Answer 2

abolished the competency rules for witnesses

Question 3

In a legal context, uncorroborated testimony is testimony that is

A) almost certainly false
B) not supported or confirmed by additional evidence
C) almost certainly true
D) offered by multiple witnesses

Answer 3

not supported or confirmed by additional evidence

Question 4

Which of the following is NOT associated with children providing accurate testimony?

A) Spontaneous accounts
B) Responding to unbiased questions
C) Responding to open-ended questions
D) A significant amount of time passing between the event and the telling so that memories have the chance to fully form

Question 5

Which of the following questions is open-ended and unbiased?

A) How old are you?
B) Did something bad happen at daycare?
C) What happened when you stayed at your uncle's house?
D) Can you tell me what Mr. Jones did to upset you?

Question 6

When researchers told children a story about a child who ate eggs and got a stomach ache and then later gave some of the children misleading information (e.g., Do you remember the story about Loren who had a headache because she ate her cereal too fast?), what happened when children were asked to select which picture had been in the story?

A) All of the children picked the accurate picture.
B) Children who were misled made more errors than children who were not misled
C) It was more difficult to mislead the younger children than the older children
D) There were no age differences in error rate among the misled children

Question 7

Rudy and Goodman's (1991) study where children dressed as a clown with a man who was a stranger to them found that

A) Older children gave less correct information than did younger children
B) Observers were more resistant to suggestion than were participants
C) Children made very few errors that would be relevant in the assessment of abuse allegations
D) Older children were more suggestible than younger children

Question 8

In interviewing children, which age group has special deficiencies (limited response in free recall, deference to adults, and problems with source monitoring) that make them vulnerable to suggestion through coercive questioning?

A) Preschool children
B) Elementary School aged children
C) Adolescents

Question 9

Ceci et al. (1994) asked children the same question repeatedly. They found that

A) Children were remarkably consistent about their answers
B) More than half of the children assented to at least one false event.
C) Children were willing to lie, but did not believe their false stories
D) None of the above

Question 10

Failing to mention that something happened is a(n) error.

A) Omission
B) Commission
C) Both an omission and a commission error.
D) Neither an omission nor a commission error

Question 11

Saying that something happened when it did not occur is a(n) error.

A) Omission
B) Commission
C) Both an omission and a commission error.
D) Neither an omission nor a commission error

Question 12

The understanding that one thing can be two things at once is

A) Metacognition
B) Double thinking
C) Dual representation
D) Present at birth

Question 13

Research by DeLoache and Marzolf (1995) showed that children do not seem to understand dual representation until they are

A) 18 months old
B) 24 months old (2 years)
C) 36 months old (3 years)
D) 48 months old (4 years)

Question 14

If an interviewer's beliefs about what happened impact the questions they ask and this leads to the child providing information that is false, but consistent with those beliefs, what has occurred?

A) A self-fulfilling prophecy
B) A clear establishment of rapport
C) A good forensic interview

Question 15

A feeling of connection or trust between an interviewer and a child is called

A) A coercive interview
B) Rapport
C) Interviewer bias
D) A clumsy interview

Question 16

What was the main finding of the Sam Stone study?

A) Children are very attentive to clumsy behavior
B) Children's memory is effected by negative information they hear about a person before they meet them; even if the person behaves appropriately in their presence
C) Even young children form their own impressions; they are not swayed by negative stereotypes
D) Older children are more influenced by negative stereotypes than are younger children

Question 17

According to Wood and Garven, an interview style that is likely to elicit false information should be called a(n)

A) clumsy interview
B) improper interview
C) coercive interview

Question 18

According to Wood and Garven, an interview style that is not likely to lead to false allegations, but that is conducted poorly is

A) clumsy interview
B) improper interview
C) coercive interview

Question 19

What is the term used for special centers where carefully trained forensic interviewers conduct interviews, doctors do forensic medical exams, and therapists conduct therapy sessions for allegedly abused children?

A) Children's Police Stations
B) Children's Hospitals
C) Child Advocacy Centers
D) Centers for Abuse Recognition

Question 20

It is harder to get a child's testimony into court now than it was during the 1970s.

Question 21

According to Federal Rule of Evidence 601, all witnesses are presumed competent.

Question 22

There is general agreement that it is appropriate to use anatomically detailed dolls as anatomical models.

Question 23

Psychiatrists who observed children playing with anatomically detailed dolls were able to correctly determine whether the children had been sexually abused about 85% of the time.

Question 24

Under what conditions would you be confident about the accuracy of a child's testimony?

Question 25

What did Bruck et al. discover about children's interactions with anatomical dolls?

Question 26

Identify 5 errors in the following interview (there are more than that!) between an investigator and a 3-year-old child:
C = child I = Investigator
Child enters room.
I: You may have a seat here. (Gestures to chair). Thank you for coming in to talk to me today. I understand that some bad things have happened to you.
C: (Shrugs. Nods yes.)
I: Can you tell me who hurt you.
C: Yes.
I: Who was it that hurt you?
C: Joe.
I: I want to talk to you about how Joe hurt you. Did Joe touch your bottom?
C: No.
I: You don't have to be embarrassed. You can tell me about what happened. You did not do anything wrong.
C: Okay.
I: Did Joe touch your bottom?
C: Yes.
I: He did. Did that make you feel bad?
C: (Shrugs.)
I: I need for you to talk to me. We can't make sure Joe goes away if you don't talk to me.
C: Can I go home?
I: First we have to talk, than you can go home.
C: Okay.
I: Tell me how Joe made you feel bad.
C: He touched me.
I: Can you show me on this doll how he touched you?
C: (nods yes)
I: (Hands child a male, child doll. The doll is naked and anatomically correct.)
C: (Handles doll, puts finger in the child's anus.)
I: Is that what Joe did to you?
C: Yes.
I: Did he put his finger in your bottom or his penis?
C: Yes.
I: He put his penis in your bottom. Did that hurt a lot?
C: (Shrugs).

Question 27

List 3 three things an interviewer should take into account when interviewing a child who is an immigrant.

Question 28

What is a practice interview?