Clinical Psychological Science, Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Catholic University Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Sci Rep. 2024 Nov 29;14(1):29687. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-80835-y.
Professionals who evaluate witness testimony must understand the developmental factors that can affect statements credibility. This online vignette study investigated in how far 102 legal professionals (e.g., judges, attorneys, and police officers) were aware of age-related differences in false memory formation (e.g., the developmental reversal effect). Swedish, Norwegian, and Dutch legal professionals received a case vignette about a female who had witnessed her mother's murder. We manipulated witness age (6 versus 22 years old) and disclosure (spontaneous versus suggestion-induced). Legal professionals rated the case and statement on several credibility, metacognition, and belief items. Main effects of both age and disclosure indicated that professionals were statistically more likely to assume that the case referred to a false memory when the witness was 6 (versus 22) years old and when the witness had talked to her grandmother (versus spontaneous statement) before her disclosure to the police. The 6-year-old witness was rated as more reliable than the 22-year-old witness. Professionals were more likely to consider the opinion of a memory expert when the witness was 6 years old rather than 22 years old. This study emphasizes the need for raising awareness among legal professionals about developmental factors related to validity assessment.
评估证人证言的专业人员必须了解可能影响证言可信度的发展因素。本在线情景研究调查了 102 名法律专业人员（例如法官、律师和警察）对与年龄相关的错误记忆形成差异（例如发展逆转效应）的认知程度。瑞典、挪威和荷兰的法律专业人员收到了一个关于一名女性目击其母亲被谋杀的案例情景描述。我们操纵了证人年龄（6 岁和 22 岁）和披露方式（自发和提示诱导）。法律专业人员对案件和陈述进行了多项可信度、元认知和信念项目的评估。年龄和披露的主要效应表明，当证人年龄为 6 岁（而不是 22 岁）且在向警方披露之前与祖母交谈过（而不是自发陈述）时，专业人员更有可能假设案件涉及错误记忆。6 岁的证人比 22 岁的证人更可靠。当证人 6 岁而不是 22 岁时，专业人员更有可能考虑记忆专家的意见。这项研究强调了提高法律专业人员对与有效性评估相关的发展因素的认识的必要性。
