Hostname: page-component-7b7567c8c-lpg2g Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-11-15T20:33:49.384Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Current Issues in Developmental Psychology and the Law

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 October 2015

Kay Bussey,
Margaret S. Steward,
Margaret-Ellen Pipe,
Candida C. Peterson and
Jeanette Lawrence
Kay Bussey*
Affiliation:
Macquarie University
Margaret S. Steward
Affiliation:
University of California, Davis
Margaret-Ellen Pipe
Affiliation:
University of Otago
Candida C. Peterson
Affiliation:
University of Queensland
Jeanette Lawrence
Affiliation:
University of Melbourne
*
School of Behavioral Sciences, Macquarie University, NSW 2109
Get access

Abstract

Legal applications of developmental psychology are an increasingly important research topic. A symposium examined children as witnesses, offenders, and participants in the legal process. Children's reporting of events is affected by long delays, interview format, and motivational factors, and their understanding of the meaning of truth develops prior to their definition of lying. The fairness of the law and its processes shows developmental changes in perceived justice. The process of sentencing shows that extralagl factors such as offender age, gender, and employment status affects the penalties imposed by magistrates.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
The Educational and Developmental Psychologist , Volume 9 , Issue 2 , November 1992, pp. 2 - 11
Copyright
Copyright © Australian Psychological Society 1992

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

REFERENCES

Bandura, A., (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Bandura, A., (1991). Social cognitive theory of moral thought and action. In Kurtines, W.M. & Gewirtz, J.L. (Ed.), Handbook of moral behavior and development (Vol. 1, pp. 45–103). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Bieri, D., Reeve, R.A., Champion, GD., Addicoat, L., & Ziegler, J.B. (1990). The faces pain scale for the self-assessment of the severity of pain experienced by children: Development, initial validation, and preliminary investigation for ratio scales properties. Pain, 41, 139–150.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bussey, K., (1992, July). Child witnesses: Cognitive motivational processes. In Bussey, K. & Lawrence, J. (Chaws), Developmental psychology and the law. Symposium conducted at the 7th Australian Developmental Conference, Brisbane.Google Scholar
Burgess, A.W., & Holmstrom, L.L., (1978). Accessory-to-sex: Pressure, sex, and secrecy. In Burgess, A.W., Groth, A.N., Holmstrom, L.L., & Sgroi, S.M. (Eds.), Sexual assault of children and adolescents (pp. 85–98), Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath.Google Scholar
DeJong, A.R., & Rose, M., (1991). Legal proof of child sexual abuse in the absence of physical evidence. Pediatrics, 88,506–511.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodman, G.S., (1984). The child witness: Conclusions and future directions for research and legal practice. Journal of Social Issues, 40, 157–175.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodman, G.S., Levine, M., Melton, GB., & Ogden, D.W (1991). Child witnesses and the confrontation clause: The American Psychological Association brief in Maryland v Craig. Law and Human Behavior, 15, 13–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodman, G.S., Rudy, L., Bottoms, BL., & Aman, C. (1990). Children’s concerns and memory: Issues of ecological validity in the study of children’s eyewitness testimony. In Fivush, R. & Hudson, J.A. (Eds.), Knowing and remembering in young children (pp.249–284). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Groth, A.N. (1984). Anatomical drawings. Forensic Mental Health Associates. Inc., 3 Ireland Road, Newton Center, MA 02159.Google Scholar
Lawrence, J., & Homel, R. (1992). Where the mind of the sentenced and the characteristics of the sentenced meet: Interacting contributions to sentencing in magistrates’ courts. In Bussey, K. & Lawrence, J. (Chairs), Developmental psychology and the law. Symposium conducted at the 7th Australian Developmental Conference, Brisbane.Google Scholar
Hicks, A.J., & Lawrence, J. (1992). Children’s understanding of criteria for maintaining procedural justice for juvenile offenders. In Bussey, K. & Lawrence, J. (Chairs), Developmental psychology and the law. Symposium conducted at the 7th Australian Developmental Conference, Brisbane.Google Scholar
Lapham, S.C., Kring, M.K., & Skipper, B. (1991). Prenatal behavioural risk screening in a health maintenance organization-based prenatal care clinic. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology1, 165,506–514.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peterson, C.C. (1992, July). The developmental of a lexical understanding of truthfulness as embodied in the courtroom oath. In Bussey, K. & Lawrence, J. (Chairs), Developmental psychology and the law. Symposium conducted at the 7th Australian Developmental Conference, Brisbane.Google Scholar
Piaget, J. (1965). The moral judgment of the child. Harmondsworth. England: Penguin Books. (Original work published 1932)Google Scholar
Pipe, M-E. (1992. July). Children’s memory and scripts for emotive events. In Bussey, K. & Lawrence, J. (Chairs), Developmental psychology and the law. Symposium conducted at the 7th Australian Developmental Conference, Brisbane.Google Scholar
Rush, F. (1980). The best kept secret: Sexual abuse of children. New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Spencer, J.R. (1990). Children’s evidence and the Criminal Justice Bill. New Law Journal, 140, 1750–1751.Google Scholar
Spencer, J., & Flin, R. (1990). The evidence of children. London: Blackstone.Google Scholar
Steward, M.S., & Steward, D.S. (1992). Efficacy of computer-assisted interviewing of young children. In Bussey, K. & Lawrence, J. (Chairs), Developmental psychology and the law. Symposium conducted at the 7th Australian Developmental Conference, Brisbane.Google Scholar
Steward, M.S., Steward, D.S., Farquhar, L., Reinhart, M., Joye, N., Myers, J.E.B., & Welker, J. (1992). A visit to the doctor: The accuracy, completeness and consistency of children’s memory. Manuscript in preparation.Google Scholar
Summit, R.C. (1983). The child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome. Child Abuse and Neglect, 7, 177–193.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tyler, T.R. (1988). What is procedural justice? Criteria used by citizens to assess the fairness of legal procedures. Law and Society, 22, 103–135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar