PSYC 376 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Language Shift, Jargon, Pragmatics

• School: Simon Fraser University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 376
• Professor: Deborah Connolly

Document Summary

Psyc 376 - lecture 3 - interviewing children. When suspected that crime committed against child, 3 questions arise. Answer to all 3 questions often rests entirely on report of child. Good forensic interview should have as core objective to identify occurrence of child maltreatment & identify when allegation/suspicion of maltreatment is false. When allegation is true, good forensic interview will maximize amount of correct info reported & minimize amount of incorrect info reported. If allegation false, should be identified as early as possible to minimize harm done to innocent persons. Protection of child & successful prosecution of crimes against children rest largely on report of child. Forensic interviewer must be aware of possibility of false allegations so as not to embroil innocent person in investigation & possible subject them to criminal charges. False allegation can result in unnecessary separation from family & damage to r/s.