the delicate handling of "don't know" responses during interviews with children (and...
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The delicate handling of "don't know" responses during interviews with children (and everyone else)
Alan Scoboria, PhD, CPsych
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Interviewing witnesses and victims
Problem statement: more kids appearing in court
Shift to relying upon childrens’ report
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The interviewer’s dilemma
Obtain available accurate information, while minimizing acquisition of distorted or fabricated information.
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Consequences if things go poorly
Erroneous information Wasted time Invalidated witness Miscarriages of justice
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Consequences if things go well
Increased confidence in information Witnesses more likely to withstand
cross-examination Justice is well-served
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Effective interviews
Emphasize free recall Minimize suggestion Avoid misleading questioning
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Young children
Free recall = underreporting Pulls for additional questioning
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The quantity / accuracy trade-off
Forced responding Free responding
Individual has the freedom to refuse to respond, express ignorance, or to say “I don’t know”
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The quantity / accuracy trade-off
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1 2 3 4 5 6
Accuracy Output
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1 2 3 4 5 6
Correct Incorrect
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Don’t know responses
Why are DK responses desirable? Reflect monitoring of knowledge Willingness to admit limits of
knowledge Ability to resist pressure
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“In experimental tasks, or real-life interviews, it is rare to see subjects, of any age, being told that they do not have to give an answer to a question.” Moston, 1987, p69
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What to do with DK responses?
Ignore them, move on may lose access to information
Restate the question, push for more may pressure responses, promote
guessing, even suggest answers Investigate the response
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Handling DK responses in interviews
Force responses? Encourage? Discourage?
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Handling DK responses in interviews
In testing situations, forced responding may be desirable
Mondak and Davis, 2002
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Handling DK responses in interviews
Forced responding promotes guessing
Koriat, Goldsmith, Schneider, & Nakash-Dura, 2001Roebers, Moga & Schneider, 2001
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Children and DK responding
Younger children tend to underutilize DK responses
Geiselman & Padilla, 1988Cassel, Roebers & Bjorklund, 1996Roebers & Schneider, 2000
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Children and DK responding
Children can improve monitoring Accuracy motivation enhances use of
DK responses and improves accuracy. Effectiveness generally follows
developmental lines.
Koriat, Goldsmith, Schneider & Nakash-Dura (2001)Roebers, Moga & Schneider (2001)
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Children and DK responding
Developmental trajectory < about age 6; low spontaneous
production > age 7, many of the concepts are in
place, use improves dramatically > age 9/10, often perform very similar
to adults
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Children and DK responding
Encouraging DK responding Risk of “DK response set”
Moston, 1987
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Children and DK responding
Simple instructions – mixed results; more effective with adults
Complex instructions – more effective with children
Mulder & Vrij, 1996; Nesbitt & Markham, 1999
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Children and DK responding
Informational influence May view interview as a test for which
the interviewers has the answers
Mulder & Vrij, 1996Waterman, Blades & Spenser, 2004Malian & Scoboria, in progress
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Children and DK responding
Question types and DK responding y/n, closed ended – lower DK
responding Wh-, open ended – higher DK
responding
Peterson, Dowdin & Tobin, 1999Peterson & Grant, 2001Waterman, Blades & Spenser, 2001
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Answerable vs. Unanswerable questions
Enhanced risk of speculation to leading unanswerable questions y/n closed ended questions Leading questions may operate by
implying that an answer is available A leading question about something
that is unknown is misleading
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DK statements and communication
Substantive responses Admitting ignorance I never saw that I might have seen that, but I can’t
remember the specific details
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DK statements and communication
Choosing not to respond
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DK statements and communication
Unwillingness to respond Exert power within interview Avoid self-implication Lying by omission
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Yes, it is more complex
DK responses when witnesses have been coached
DK responses after multiple interviews, or previous poor interviews
DK responses as costs to interviewee increase (i.e., parent is suspect)
DK responses in suspects
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Limitations of the research literature
No work on DK responses in developmentally delayed children
No work on meaning of DK responses in children
Implications of exploring DK responses not well understood
Naturalistic studies are needed
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Take home points
Accepting DK responses appears essential
Encouraging them appears advisable
Balancing encouraging / discouraging DK responses is challenging
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Take home points
Children ages 9-10+ frequently use DK effectively
Children ages 6-8 often demonstrate monitoring ability
Children < 6 often show poorer monitoring ability
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Take home points
Attend to informational influence (what the interviewer “knows”)
Avoiding question types which undermine use of DK responses
Using developmentally appropriate language
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Acknowledgements
Lisa Dadd Stephanie Fisico Mark Frey Amanda Harris Irving Kirsch Giuliana Mazzoni Julie Malian Chris Reid Hoa Trang
Funding sources
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
University of Windsor
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Contact information
Alan ScoboriaAssociate Professor of PsychologyDepartment of Psychology401 SunsetWindsor, ON, Canada N9B3P4email: [email protected]: 001-519-253-3000 x4090