Evaluating the validity of testimony: The role of the order of evidence
Legal practitioners sometimes ask psychologists to evaluate the validity of statements of victims, witnesses, and suspects. For their assessment, psychologists often have access to different pieces of evidence (e.g., a video recording of the interview, the suspect's statements). Research has de...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Forensic Science International: Synergy |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589871X24001098 |
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| author | Henry Otgaar Tamara L.F. De Beuf Melanie Sauerland Alexa Schincariol |
| author_facet | Henry Otgaar Tamara L.F. De Beuf Melanie Sauerland Alexa Schincariol |
| author_sort | Henry Otgaar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Legal practitioners sometimes ask psychologists to evaluate the validity of statements of victims, witnesses, and suspects. For their assessment, psychologists often have access to different pieces of evidence (e.g., a video recording of the interview, the suspect's statements). Research has demonstrated that the order of reviewing the evidence can affect decision-making. To examine expert witnesses' views about this, we surveyed 52 legal psychologists about their preferred order for considering the evidence in a statement validity assessment in a fictional sexual abuse case. The assessment was about the validity of the statement of the alleged child victim. The case file included the following documents: an audiovisual recording of the child interview at the police station, a verbatim transcript of that same interview, and a written statement of the suspect. Legal psychologists indicated their preferred order for reviewing these documents and explained the rationale behind their choice. There was no uniform approach among legal psychologists. About one third of respondents would first examine the audiovisual recording, then the verbatim transcript and finally the suspect's statement. In contrast, about one third would first look at the verbatim transcript, then at the recording and last at the suspect's statement. These differences in approach likely highlight the challenges and trade-offs entailed in deciding on the optimal order and emphasize the need for a discussion in the expert witness community about these issues. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a23b65f07e3242199e23aa203fe2c9f4 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2589-871X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Forensic Science International: Synergy |
| spelling | doaj-art-a23b65f07e3242199e23aa203fe2c9f42024-12-16T05:36:53ZengElsevierForensic Science International: Synergy2589-871X2024-01-019100562Evaluating the validity of testimony: The role of the order of evidenceHenry Otgaar0Tamara L.F. De Beuf1Melanie Sauerland2Alexa Schincariol3Faculty of Law and Criminology, Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium; Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, the Netherlands; Corresponding author. Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, the Netherlands.Faculty of Law and Criminology, Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium; Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement, the NetherlandsFaculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, the NetherlandsFaculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, the Netherlands; Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padova, Padova, Italy; Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, ItalyLegal practitioners sometimes ask psychologists to evaluate the validity of statements of victims, witnesses, and suspects. For their assessment, psychologists often have access to different pieces of evidence (e.g., a video recording of the interview, the suspect's statements). Research has demonstrated that the order of reviewing the evidence can affect decision-making. To examine expert witnesses' views about this, we surveyed 52 legal psychologists about their preferred order for considering the evidence in a statement validity assessment in a fictional sexual abuse case. The assessment was about the validity of the statement of the alleged child victim. The case file included the following documents: an audiovisual recording of the child interview at the police station, a verbatim transcript of that same interview, and a written statement of the suspect. Legal psychologists indicated their preferred order for reviewing these documents and explained the rationale behind their choice. There was no uniform approach among legal psychologists. About one third of respondents would first examine the audiovisual recording, then the verbatim transcript and finally the suspect's statement. In contrast, about one third would first look at the verbatim transcript, then at the recording and last at the suspect's statement. These differences in approach likely highlight the challenges and trade-offs entailed in deciding on the optimal order and emphasize the need for a discussion in the expert witness community about these issues.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589871X24001098Cognitive biasExpert witnessLegal psychologyLinear sequential unmaskingStatement validity |
| spellingShingle | Henry Otgaar Tamara L.F. De Beuf Melanie Sauerland Alexa Schincariol Evaluating the validity of testimony: The role of the order of evidence Forensic Science International: Synergy Cognitive bias Expert witness Legal psychology Linear sequential unmasking Statement validity |
| title | Evaluating the validity of testimony: The role of the order of evidence |
| title_full | Evaluating the validity of testimony: The role of the order of evidence |
| title_fullStr | Evaluating the validity of testimony: The role of the order of evidence |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluating the validity of testimony: The role of the order of evidence |
| title_short | Evaluating the validity of testimony: The role of the order of evidence |
| title_sort | evaluating the validity of testimony the role of the order of evidence |
| topic | Cognitive bias Expert witness Legal psychology Linear sequential unmasking Statement validity |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589871X24001098 |
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