Witness Appeal:
Effect of shields and videotape on
children giving evidence
3.2.2 Witness Appeal
•
The effects of physical attractiveness on the jury verdicts (Castellow et al.1990)
•
The effect of witness confidence on jurors assessment of eyewitness evidence (Penrod
& Cutler, 1987)
• The impact of protective shields and
videotape testimony on conviction rates (Ross
et al, 1994).
Theory
• What are the issues that you can think about
with children giving evidence in court?
• What impact do you think this has on the
jury’s opinion?
Effect of shields and videotape of
children giving evidence.
Part One:
Hypotheses:
• That the modality of child testimony will have an
effect on verdicts returned by mock jurors.
• That the modality of child testimony will have an
effect on the credibility of the child witness.
Study: Part One
• Laboratory experiment (mock trial).
• Independent measures.
• 300 US college students for am introductory
psychology course. (White middle class)
• Standardised procedures.
Procedure:
• Watched a video tape simulation of a sexual abuse trail
(father and daughter).
• 10 year old child giving evidence.
• Based on a real case but they were all actors.
Rank the levels of the IV:
modality of child testimony
Open court
Shield
Video recording
Order of Presentation
•
•
•
•
•
Child
Expert witness for the prosecution
Child’s mother
Defendant
Expert witness for the defence
Judge warned that the devices should not in any
way be taken to imply that the defendant was
guilty.
Dependent Variable
• % of participants who said the defendant was
guilty or not guilt.
• Rating of credibility of the child witness and
defendant on a 7 point likert scale.
Results:
Conviction rates:
1. What was the effect of the modality of the child’s testimony?
Guilty
Open Court
Shield
Testimony
51%
46%
49%
Females higher conviction rates compared with males
Credibility
1. Creditability of the child: Females higher than males
2. Creditability of the defendant: Females lower than males
Part 2
What happened when the trial was stopped
immediately after the child witness?
•
•
•
•
•
Child
Expert witness for the prosecution
Child’s mother
Defendant
Expert witness for the defence
Also wanted to see if the judge’s warning
impacted- It didn’t
Conditions
• Random allocation
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Open court
Shield with judge’s warning
Shield without judge’s warning
Video with judge’s warning
Video without judge’s warning
Results:
Conviction rates:
1. What was the effect of the modality of the child’s testimony
when it was stopped immediately after their testimony?
Guilty
Open Court
Shield
Video
77%
65%
61%
What does this mean?
15 mark question….
What to do when you don’t know what to do….
Approaches
/Perspectives
Methods
Issues
Debates
Physiological
experimental
(laboratory and
field);
ethics;
Determinism/
free will
Cognitive
Individual
differences
ecological
validity;
case study;
self-report;
Reductionism/
Holism
longitudinal
and snapshot; nature–nurture
Developmental
observation;
Social
Behaviourist
Psychodynamic
methodological
issues such as
reliability and
validity.
qualitative
and
quantitative
data.
ethnocentrism;
psychology as science
individual and situational
explanations;
the usefulness of psychological
research
Evaluation: Theory
Strengths
Limitations
Point: A strength of….
Comment: Why is it a strength?
Evidence: Remember to include only the relevant parts of the theory here.
Comment: Implication to a wider context, what can we do with this information in the
real world.
Evaluation: Research
Strengths
Limitations
Point: A weakness of
Comment: Why is this a weakness?
Evidence: Remember to include only the relevant parts of the study here.
Comment: Implication to a wider context, what can we do with this in the real world.
Homework
1.
Checklist question: Describe research into the effect of shields
and video tape on children giving evidence. (10 marks)
2.
Complete a plan (dot point) for the following question: Describe
how shields and videotapes of children giving evidence can impact
a jury’s verdict. (10 marks)
3.
Please change question in booklet. 15 marks
‘Evaluate the methodology used in witness appeal.’
4.
Read: Stages of decision making (Hastie)
Make notes of the three stages in your own words.
5.
Read: Majority Influence (Asch)