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From the archive: ‘Testimony and evidence: A scientific case study of memory for child sexual abuse’ by S. Bidrose & G. S. Goodman (2000). Applied Cognitive Psychology , 14 , 197–213 with commentary
Author(s) -
AUTHOR_ID
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
applied cognitive psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.719
H-Index - 100
eISSN - 1099-0720
pISSN - 0888-4080
DOI - 10.1002/acp.1782
Subject(s) - psychology , sexual abuse , child sexual abuse , cognition , child abuse , developmental psychology , social psychology , poison control , suicide prevention , psychiatry , medicine , environmental health
Abstract Over the past 25 years, Applied Cognitive Psychology had been an outlet for research that is both theoretically strong and has important applied implications. There are many articles during my tenure as Editor that reflect these qualities. However, one of the papers that I continue to be impressed with is this paper. In this study ‐ much like Neisser's (1981) case study of John Dean ‐ the authors compared the testimony of four girls regarding their alleged sexual abuse, with actual documentary evidence recorded by the leader of a ‘sex ring’. Approximately 80% of the girls' allegations were confirmed. This study is noteworthy because it provides real‐world data that addresses compelling questions regarding the reliability of children's abuse memories.