Children's use of anatomically detailed dolls to recount an event. 1990

G S Goodman, and C Aman
Department of Psychology, SUNY-Buffalo 14260.

The use of anatomically detailed dolls in child sexual abuse investigations has raised several controversial issues related to important theoretical questions in developmental psychology. The present study was designed to examine some of these issues in a methodologically sound experiment. 80 3- and 5-year-old children experienced a social interaction with a male confederate and were later tested under 1 of 4 recall conditions: reenactment with anatomically detailed dolls, reenactment with regular dolls, free recall with visual cues, or free recall without visual cues. The children were also asked a variety of specific and misleading questions, some of them dealing with acts associated with abuse ("He took your clothes off, didn't he?"). Both anatomically detailed and regular dolls along with other props aided 5-year-olds more than 3-year-olds in recounting the event. To use increased rather than decreased age differences. Anatomically detailed dolls did not foster false reports of abuse. Overall, 3-year-olds were more suggestible than 5-year-olds. The findings have implications for children's testimony in child abuse cases and for psychological theories concerning the effects of stimulus support on children's memory.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D010988 Play and Playthings Spontaneous or voluntary recreational activities pursued for enjoyment and accessories or equipment used in the activities; includes games, toys, etc. Puppets,Toys,Play,Playthings,Plays,Plaything,Playthings and Play,Puppet,Toy
D011939 Mental Recall The process whereby a representation of past experience is elicited. Recall, Mental
D002650 Child Abuse, Sexual Sexual maltreatment of the child or minor. Child Molestation,Child Molestation, Sexual,Molestation, Sexual, Child,Sexual Abuse of Child,Sexual Abuse, Child,Abuse, Child Sexual,Child Sexual Abuse,Molestation, Child,Sexual Child Abuse,Sexual Child Molestation
D002675 Child, Preschool A child between the ages of 2 and 5. Children, Preschool,Preschool Child,Preschool Children
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D014705 Verbal Behavior Includes both producing and responding to words, either written or spoken. Behavior, Verbal,Behaviors, Verbal,Verbal Behaviors

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