Deck 6: Child Sexual Abuse: Interviewing Children and the Recovered Memories of Adults

Question 1

In a series of studies by Hyman and his colleagues, replicating and extending Loftus's findings, the researchers tried to implant childhood memories of even more unusual events than being "lost at the mall." What percent of participants did eventually come to believe these memories were real?

A) Less than 5%.
B) Over a quarter of the participants.
C) About half of the participants.
D) More than 90%.

Answer 1

Over a quarter of the participants.

Question 2

One should be especially skeptical about the claims of recovered memories in all of the following cases, EXCEPT:

A) abuse involving satanic rituals.
B) abuse that occurred before the age of 3.
C) memories of abuse that began as vague impressions.
D) memories of abuse coming as flashbacks.

Answer 2

memories of abuse coming as flashbacks.

Question 3

A shocking wave of cases where day care workers in multiple states were accused of sexually abusing children in their care captured the attention of the media in the United States in the late 1980s and into the 1990s. All of the following were the common features of these unrelated cases, EXCEPT:

A) the bizarre character of the alleged sexual abuse.
B) no medical evidence of sexual abuse.
C) the availability of video recordings of sexual abuse sessions.
D) the ability of the alleged abusers to keep their sexual activities secret for long periods of time.

Answer 3

the availability of video recordings of sexual abuse sessions.

Question 4

Researchers analyzed interviews with actual child victims of sexual abuse, which revealed that the presumed child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome (CSAAS) is largely not confirmed in abused children: Most children disclose abuse _____ and later recantations of the admitted abuse are _____.

A) in the first or second interview; very common
B) only after multiple interviews; very common
C) in the first or second interview; rare
D) only after multiple interviews; rare

Question 5

One of the situations when most states allow hearsay testimony at trial is when:

A) a child is the alleged victim of the crime.
B) the case has a victim with disabilities.
C) a victim lives in a different country.
D) Hearsay testimony is allowed in all of the above cases.

Question 6

Research has shown that children _____ sometimes have difficulty distinguishing between imagined and real events.

A) under 2
B) under 5
C) over 8
D) over 12

Question 7

In the case Maryland v. Craig (1990), the Supreme Court allowed the use of _____ for child _____.

A) hearsay testimony; victims
B) closed-circuit television (CCTV); victims
C) coercive questioning; defendants
D) NICHD Investigative Interview Protocol; defendants

Question 8

Which of the following is NOT a type of interviewer's prompt recommended in NICHD Investigative Interview Protocol?

A) Tell me everything that happened.
B) What happened next?
C) He wanted you to touch him, right?
D) Where did it happen?

Question 9

There were several experiments conducted by researchers to evaluate children's susceptibility to suggestive questioning. Even though these studies show a significant proportion of children changing their accounts in response to misleading questions, these studies probably still underestimate the children's tendency to agree with misleading questions. Here are the reasons for such underestimation, EXCEPT:

A) The questioning techniques in real cases were much more forceful than in experiments.
B) In real cases, children were questioned multiple times by different interviewers.
C) The information obtained by interviewers in real cases was shared with parents who also questioned their children.
D) Children in the experiments were much older than children in the day care center cases.

Question 10

According to the text, the following statements about child sexual abuse are true, EXCEPT:

A) About equal percentages of boys and girls experience some form of unwanted sexual touching.
B) The true prevalence of child sexual abuse is difficult to measure exactly.
C) The true prevalence of child sexual abuse could be higher than the current best estimates.
D) Child sexual abuse is a disturbingly underreported crime.

Question 11

What was the outcome in the Wee Care Nursery School case?

A) Kelly Michaels was convicted and sentenced to life in prison and still remains in prison.
B) Kelly Michaels was sentenced to 47 years but was released from prison after 5 years.
C) Kelly Michaels pled guilty to lesser charges and was released on probation.
D) The jury was deadlocked and the case had to be retried before the charges were dropped.

Question 12

Which of the following events have prompted psychologists to conduct additional research on and develop new techniques for eliciting accurate reports of abuse?

A) Multiple reports of sexual abuse of children in day care centers.
B) Clinical trials of a new therapy for children who have experienced abuse.
C) The lowering of the age of criminal responsibility by the Supreme Court.
D) The change in the age of reporting for sexual abuse.

Question 13

All of the following are reasons for underreporting of child sexual abuse, EXCEPT:

A) very young children may not be able to talk and explain what happened.
B) young children may not interpret what's happening as sexual abuse.
C) children's allegations of sexual abuse are not taken seriously.
D) children may fear retaliation of the abuser.

Question 14

The notion that traumatic memories can be pushed out of conscious awareness is called:

A) oppression.
B) regression.
C) repression.
D) confabulation.

Question 15

The following are likely reasons that the crime of child sexual abuse is underreported. Which one of these statements is NOT such a reason?

A) Children who are too young to talk, cannot report the abuse.
B) Young children may not interpret sexual exploitation as abuse.
C) Children may fear retaliation if they tell anyone about the abuse.
D) Children may project the abuse they have experienced, onto their toys.

Question 16

In sexual abuse cases, jurors are more likely to believe _____ because younger children _____.

A) younger children than adolescents; are less likely to lie or make things up
B) younger children than adolescents; seem unsophisticated about sexual matters
C) adolescents than younger children; tend to easily mix reality and fantasy
D) adolescents than younger children; could have been easily misled by adults

Question 17

Substantial research now shows that the interviewers in many of the preschool cases ____ that children were sexually abused, and this made the interviewers question the children more _____ to confirm the interviewers' preexisting beliefs.

A) strongly believed; coercively
B) strongly believed; gently
C) did not believe; gently
D) did not believe; coercively

Question 18

Elizabeth Loftus (1997) was able to implant false memories of being "lost at the mall" in what percentage of participants?

A) 50%
B) 75%
C) 25%
D) 5%

Question 19

The case of Paul Ingram is unusual because:

A) it was the longest time anyone had ever suppressed a memory.
B) it involved recovered memories of being the perpetrator of sexual abuse.
C) Ingram had suppressed memories of traumatic abuse from more than three perpetrators.
D) Ingram was the first to sue a therapist for implanting false memories.

Question 20

Extensive research shows that the use of anatomically detailed dolls:

A) tends to have no effect on children's accounts in sexual abuse investigations.
B) increases the number of false allegations by children in sexual abuse cases.
C) helps younger but not older children elicit accurate information about sexual abuse.
D) only has an effect on girls but not on boys in recalling sexual abuse.

Question 21

Suggestive questions can best be described as _____ leading questions _____.

A) excluding; not volunteered by the child
B) including; not volunteered by the child
C) excluding; that were unsolicited
D) including; that were solicited

Question 22

Research exploring the effect of repetitive questioning on preschool-aged children's responses found that:

A) most children continued to provide correct accounts of past events.
B) most children changed their answers to incorporate the suggested falsehoods.
C) repetitive questioning has produced additional details of the true past events.
D) children would often stop answering the adults' questions altogether.

Question 23

Hearsay testimony is generally _____ in court but most states do allow an exception to the hearsay rule for _____ victims.

A) inadmissible; child
B) inadmissible; elderly
C) admissible; child
D) admissible; vulnerable

Question 24

Two components of the presumed child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome (CSAAS) are the denial of abuse and recantation of abuse. Researchers who analyzed actual interviews with sexually abused children found that, in reality, the denial and recantation of abuse:

A) are unusual.
B) are very common.
C) happen only with older children.
D) happen only in small, tightly knit communities.

Question 25

Bearing witness to what someone else said outside of court is called:

A) unsubstantiated rumor.
B) hearsay testimony.
C) non-admissible evidence.
D) half-admissible evidence.

Question 26

It is important to avoid bias when interviewing a possible victim or witness. This is particularly true with children. One technique that may be used to avoid bias when interviewing children is the National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD) Investigative Interview Protocol. The NICHD Protocol guides interviewers towards all of the following, EXCEPT:

A) avoiding biased or suggestive questions.
B) putting the child at ease.
C) using open-ended questions.
D) using questions requiring a yes-no answer.

Question 27

When NICHD Investigative Interview Protocol procedures are followed, interviews with children are _____ recorded on video.

A) almost never
B) sometimes
C) often
D) almost always

Question 28

Liam is a 4-year-old who is being questioned by his mom about his physical contact with a guest visitor to Liam's day care center. Even though the visitor never touched Liam, the mother keeps asking which part of Liam's body the visitor touched first. Liam is likely to:

A) keep denying that the physical contact has ever occurred.
B) stop talking altogether.
C) tell mom what she wants to hear even if he has to make it up.
D) tell mom the truth even if it hurts.

Question 29

There have been studies on the use of anatomically detailed dolls as props when questioning children who are suspected of having been victims of sexual abuse. Overall, the research:

A) proves that only false allegations of sexual abuse are increased.
B) suggests that only true allegations of sexual abuse are elicited.
C) clearly shows that these props decrease the number of any allegations of sexual abuse.
D) on the effectiveness of these props is inconclusive.

Question 30

Delia is a prosecutor working on a case where allegations of child sexual abuse perpetrated by a day care center worker have been made. The child's parents are very concerned and want Delia to investigate the allegations. When it comes to the use of child interviewing props, Delia's best course of action is to use anatomically detailed _____. Moreover, these props should be used _____.

A) dolls; only after the child has made a disclosure of abuse
B) dolls; as soon as possible
C) body diagrams; only after the child has made a disclosure of abuse
D) body diagrams; as soon as possible

Question 31

When exposed to sexual abuse testimony given by children at trial, it appears that jurors are _____ to believe young children compared to adolescents.

A) less likely
B) equally as likely
C) more likely
D) seldom apt

Question 32

"Tell me everything that happened" is an example of an open-ended request, which is considered a(n) _____ prompt in the NICHD Investigative Interview Protocol.

A) invasive
B) non-coercive
C) overly forceful
D) impractical

Question 33

According to the text, children who recant previous allegations of sexual abuse are likely to have been abused by a:

A) stranger.
B) parental figure.
C) peer.
D) family friend.

Question 34

When reviewing sexual abuse testimony given by children at trial, it appears that jurors _____ the testimony of children in sexual abuse cases.

A) tend to believe
B) tend to doubt
C) are often instructed to disregard
D) defer to the judge when interpreting

Question 35

According to the text, the use of anatomically detailed dolls when interviewing children under the age of 6 is likely to _____ the number of false allegations of sexual abuse.

A) have no bearing on
B) decrease
C) increase
D) equalize

Question 36

Research has demonstrated that some techniques used in interviewing children in abuse cases are especially helpful. These techniques include all of the following, EXCEPT:

A) simplified instructions.
B) taking an oath to tell the truth.
C) explicit statement stipulating that the interviewer does not know what happened.
D) asking the same question more than once.

Question 37

What is the best description of the NICHD Investigative Interview Protocol?

A) This is a technique designed to reduce biased questioning and elicit true responses from children.
B) This is a technique using closed-ended questions to interview alleged victims who are children.
C) This is a protocol for using Bobo Dolls to release children's desire for letting their anger out.
D) This is a coercive approach to interviewing intended to overcome the resistance of an abuse victim.

Question 38

Suggestive questioning of children is most likely to _____, and can lead to _____ prompted by repetitive questions.

A) be done first by their parents; false allegations of abuse
B) be done first by their parents; projecting sexual abuse on the interviewer
C) elicit true information; a complete account of abuse
D) elicit true information; projecting sexual abuse on the interviewer

Question 39

According to the text, children who supposedly suffer from child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome (CSAAS) are likely to show behavioral symptoms that could also be evident in children misled into admitting such abuse. The following symptoms are believed to be part of the CSAAS syndrome, EXCEPT:

A) delayed disclosure of the abuse.
B) mentioning the abuse only to peers.
C) denial that the sexual abuse ever occurred.
D) recantation of allegations of abuse later on.

Question 40

It is especially important to record the _____ with the child because _____.

A) last interview; it precedes the trial most recently
B) first encounter; it shows the child in the natural settings
C) first interview; it may have the clearest indicators of the child's truthfulness
D) longest interview; this is when the child is likely to stop pretending and start telling the truth

Question 41

In the mid-1990s, the hysteria of day care child abuse cases has _____ while claims of having recovered memories of past sexual abuse have _____.

A) basically died down; continued at a slower pace
B) basically died down; proliferated
C) continued unabated; slowed down considerably
D) continued unabated; basically died down

Question 42

According to the text, the most common response to traumatic experiences is not _____ but _____.

A) forgetting; repression
B) forgetting; flashbacks
C) flashbacks; repression
D) flashbacks; memory implantation

Question 43

One reason why adult hearsay witness testimony may be perceived differently from that of a child, is that:

A) adults are more confident in their testimony.
B) children are less nervous.
C) adults are more likely to lie without feeling nervous.
D) children are more likely to make eye contact.

Question 44

In the 2000s, claims of recovered memories ______, mostly in response to _____.

A) slowly decreased; research showing that false memories can be easily implanted
B) decreased drastically; successful lawsuits against therapists who had created false memories
C) had stabilized; realizations that false memories bring more pain than relief to the victims
D) had increased; new legislation awarding substantial sums of money to the victims

Question 45

Hearsay testimony is sometimes admissible in trials where a child is the alleged victim because:

A) defendants need to see the accuser.
B) younger children are sophisticated about sexual matters.
C) prosecutors want to see the victim.
D) children may have a hard time facing their abuser.

Question 46

The use of a closed-circuit television (CCTV) is another way that children can testify in a case. CCTV allows the judge and jury to see the child without exposing the alleged victim to the emotional trauma that may present itself if the child were to see the defendant. In the case of Maryland v. Craig, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that the _____ the defendant's right to confront his or her accuser.

A) need to gather the truth from the child is as important as
B) importance of protecting the child victim outweighs
C) rights of the alleged child victim are as important as
D) potential emotional trauma to the child is not as significant as

Question 47

Aisha had been going through an emotionally tough time after the separation from her long-term partner, and her psychotherapist suggested some hypnotic sessions. During these sessions, Aisha has started vaguely recalling being fondled by her father as a baby while he was giving her baths. Memories of this type are referred to as:

A) unconscious memories.
B) regressed memories.
C) recovered memories.
D) unknown memories.

Question 48

Research by Gail Goodman and her colleagues (1998) examined the use of a closed-circuit television (CCTV) for child testimony. The results show that the use of CCTV _____ the emotional distress in children _____ the accuracy of their testimony.

A) increases; and jeopardizes
B) increases; but does not reduce
C) decreases; and improves
D) decreases; but also reduces

Question 49

The concept of repression was popularized by:

A) John Watson.
B) Albert Bandura.
C) Sigmund Freud.
D) Elizabeth Loftus.

Question 50

Much research has demonstrated that most victims of traumatic events have _____ memories of the episode.

A) vivid
B) few
C) completely repressed their
D) first repressed, then recovered their

Question 51

There are several conclusions that can be drawn from research on implanting false memories. Which of the following conclusions is INCORRECT?

A) The majority of people in the studies did not succumb to memory implantation.
B) Hypnosis and other therapeutic techniques facilitate the production of implanted memories.
C) If a person is 100% sure the memory is true, it is often a good indicator of a true memory.
D) People who strongly believe in the possibility of recovering a suppressed memory are more likely to "recover" false memories.

Question 52

In a series of experiments replicating Loftus' research, Hyman and his colleagues set out to create false memories of fairly unusual past events. The results of their studies show that again, about _____ of the participants had developed false recollections.

A) 10%
B) a quarter
C) three quarters
D) 90%

Question 53

The repression hypothesis posits that traumatic memories can be maintained in the _____ for years, and the use of _____ techniques may be helpful in uncovering them.

A) consciousness; cognitive enhancement
B) consciousness; relaxation and visualization
C) unconscious; cognitive enhancement
D) unconscious; relaxation and visualization

Question 54

According to the text, all of the following ways to ease the child testimony burden have been suggested, EXCEPT:

A) bringing a support person to court.
B) bringing a support animal to court.
C) familiarizing the child with courtroom procedures and personnel.
D) having siblings administer the cross-examination of the child.

Question 55

According to research noted in the text, jurors that heard both adult hearsay witnesses and child testimony deemed the hearsay testimony:

A) less credible.
B) equally as credible.
C) more credible.
D) less accurate.

Question 56

In some cases, so-called memories of past abuse have surfaced as a result of the _____ of the alleged victim while under hypnosis or guided imagery.

A) corroboration
B) suggestibility
C) fear
D) frustration

Question 57

We should be especially skeptical of allegedly recovered memories in the following cases, EXCEPT:

A) recalling began as vague feelings rather than clear memories.
B) abuse happened before the age of 3, according to the alleged memories.
C) memories of abuse came back as flashes of particular incidents.
D) the recollection involved extended abuse continuing into adolescence.

Question 58

The concept of repression has found _____ support in empirical research studies of real victims of_____.

A) very little; traumatic events
B) considerable; traumatic events
C) very little; memory loss
D) considerable; memory loss

Question 59

There are good reasons why most states allow hearsay testimony when a child is the alleged victim. Which of the following is NOT such a reason?

A) To shield jurors from the biasing impact of young children's cuteness.
B) To protect the victim from being questioned in unusual and formal settings.
C) To spare young children the intimidating atmosphere of the courtroom.
D) To avoid the traumatic experience for the victim of facing the alleged abuser.

Question 60

Elizabeth Loftus is well known for her research on false memories. In one experiment, she created a false memory in participants of being _____. Of the participants in the experiment, _____ have "remembered" most or all of the implanted event after two subsequent interviews.

A) lost at the mall; 5%
B) lost at the mall; 25%
C) bullied; 50%
D) bullied; 75%

Question 61

Which allegations of recovered memories of being sexually abused as a child should be suspect?

Question 62

Should anatomically detailed dolls be admissible in court? Why or why not?

Question 63

How are child witnesses perceived by jurors? What kind of measures do the courts take to protect child witnesses?