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The Effects of Social Support on Children's Eyewitness Testimony

Moston, S.J, Engelberg, T. (1992) The Effects of Social Support on Children's Eyewitness Testimony. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 6 (1). pp. 61-75. ISSN 0888-4080. (doi:10.1002/acp.2350060104) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:22376)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/acp.2350060104

Abstract

Child witnesses often give only short accounts of witnessed events. Part of the reason for this failing centres on the stress present during an interview. The most obvious means of reducing stress in children, through the provision of social support, has typically been neglected in eyewitness research, presumably because of fears over children's excessive suggestibility. Social support is also believed to inhibit children during interviews. However, these fears appear to stem more from general suspicions about children's competencies rather than empirical findings. Studies are described which show that child witnesses express a strong desire for social support, and that support may be provided in a number of different ways, from peers as well as adults. It is argued that social support is one of the most unfairly neglected issues in eyewitness research, and the minimal evidence available suggests that allowing support may have a facilitative effect on task performance, including free-recall memory.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1002/acp.2350060104
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General)
H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Psychology
Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research
Depositing User: M. Nasiriavanaki
Date Deposited: 25 Aug 2009 07:25 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 10:00 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/22376 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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