The article selected to support the argument that eyewitness testimony of children is reliable is titled “Reliability of Children’s Testimony in the Era of Developmental Reversals”, as it challenges the assumption that false memory reports are mostly associated with children than adults. The article quotes research from the 1980s, which shows that reversals in memory between early childhood and young adulthood decline under controlled conditions (Li & Koenig, 2023). The authors use fuzzy-trace theory to challenge the assumption that children’s testimony is inherently less reliable than adults’ testimony, predicting the reversals in the developmental pattern. However, the article also discusses that false memories increase between early childhood and young adulthood, predicting that children can provide valuable insights, but their testimonies should be approached with caution due to various factors associated with their cognitive growth.
The article selected to refute this argument is titled “Children’s Eyewitness Testimony and Event Memory.” It discusses the reliability of children’s courtroom testimony. The article sheds light on the age of children, which often leads to them omitting more information and details in their spontaneous recollections than adults do, which puts their behaviour and testimony in question. Moreover, the memories encoded during childhood can be decontextualized, such as in child abuse cases, which raises serious concerns regarding the extent of content and detail in their narrative for legal purposes (Arterberry, 2022). To some extent, their testimony can be valuable for the courts and jurors, but mostly, their developmental pattern and age difference may lead judges to be sceptical of children recalling events as well as their testimony.
In my opinion, children’s testimonies should be approached with caution when it comes to the accuracy of children’s recollections of events in controlled settings. A child witnessing a robbery or murder and his/her involvement in the legal process might affect the child’s memory due to emotional states, stress, or trauma. Children may also experience fear or anxiety, which can impair and complicate their ability to recall events accurately as well as provide reliable testimony. There may also occur some discrepancies over time as the cognitive processes of the children evolve, which can change their understanding and recall of events. So, their testimonies should be carefully evaluated to obtain the most reliable information possible.
References
Arterberry, M. E. (2022). Children’s eyewitness testimony and event memory. Cambridge University Press.
Li, P. H., & Koenig, M. A. (2023). Understanding the role of testimony in children’s moral development: Theories, controversies, and implications. Developmental Review, 67, 101053.
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