![](https://d3ilqtpdwi981i.cloudfront.net/fXwh4wKFZKj5Rfu1kos2H0wfg-s=/425x550/smart/https://bepress-attached-resources.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/43/08/09/4308098b-d3f5-4f82-a1f3-dbf4a07fbc32/thumbnail_BPFile%20object.jpg)
Article
40. Question Types, Responsiveness and Self-contradictions when Prosecutors and Defense Attorneys Question Alleged Victims of Child Sexual Abuse
Applied Cognitive Psychology
(2014)
Abstract
We examined 120 trial transcripts of 6- to 12-year-old children testifying to sexual abuse. Age and attorney role were analyzed in relation to question types, children’s responsiveness, and self-contradiction frequency. A total of 48,716 question-response pairs were identified. Attorneys used more closed-ended than open-ended prompts. Prosecutors used more invitations (3% vs. 0%), directives and option-posing prompts than defence attorneys, who used more suggestive prompts than prosecutors. Children were more unresponsive to defence attorneys than to prosecutors. Self-contradictions were identified in 95% of the cases. Defence attorneys elicited more self-contradictions than prosecutors, but nearly all prosecutors (86%) elicited at least one self-contradiction. Suggestive questions elicited more self-contradictions than any other prompt type. There were no associations with age. These findings suggest that neither prosecutors nor defence attorneys question children in developmentally appropriate ways.
Keywords
- child abuse,
- child testimony,
- defence attorneys,
- question types,
- child neglect
Disciplines
Publication Date
November, 2014
Citation Information
Andrews, S. J., Lamb, M. E., & Lyon, T. D. (2015). Question types, responsiveness, and self-contradictions when prosecutors and defense attorneys question alleged victims of sexual abuse. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 29, 253-261.