Perceptions of older adult eyewitnesses: will you believe me when I'm 64?
Participant-witnesses (young adults/young seniors/older seniors) viewed one of two versions of a simulated videotaped crime (crime context either familiar to young or older adults). The witnesses were videotaped responding to direct and cross-examination questions about the video. The older seniors were significantly less accurate than the young adults and young seniors. Familiarity of the crime context did not affect testimony accuracy. However, the older seniors were more verbose when describing a familiar context. Participant-jurors viewed the testimony videotapes and evaluated the witnesses' credibility. All witnesses were regarded as equally credible in testifying and less accurate in response to cross-examination questioning.
Department of Psychology, P.O. Box 3050, STN CSC, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada V8W 3P5.
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CA
Brimacombe
Sandy
S
Jung
Lynn
L
Garrioch
Meredith
M
Allison
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003415:Crime / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D012381:Role Playing; D012938:Social Perception; D013240:Stereotyping; D014743:Videotape Recording; D014796:Visual Perception