著者

仲 真紀子 上宮 愛

出版者

心理学評論刊行会

雑誌

心理学評論 (ISSN:03861058)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.48, no.3, pp.343-361, 2005

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Admissibility and reliability of a child's testimony depends on her/his competence in remembering and communicating facts as well as ability to discriminate the truth from a lie. It also relies on the type of early interview through which the account has previously been elicited. In this article, we reviewed research into the development of relevant cognitive abilities such as episodic memory and communication skills to talk about an event, a nd the ability to tell the difference between the truth and a lie, Also we examined studies on social factors that may facilitate or interfere with the production of an accurate account, such as the forms of questions, interview methods, social pressures and suggestive information. Results suggest that compared with younger children, children over six years of age, who are more aware of source information and the definitions of truth and lie, a nd more able to resist suggestions, are more capable of giving a testimony provided that an unbiased interview has been conducted, The results are discussed in connection with current legislation and investigative procedures in Japan.