Live and videotaped testimonies: observers´perception, assessment and memory

Sammanfattning: This thesis examines how different presentation modes (live vs. video) affect observers? perception, veracity assessment and memory of adult (Study Ι) and child witnesses (Study ΙΙ). The rationale for conducting this research is that both presentation modes are used in court, but that little is known about the effects of different presentation modes. Hence, the present thesis sheds light on the question of whether observers perceive and evaluate live and videotaped statements differently. Study Ι examined how different presentation modes (live vs. video) affect observers? perception, assessment and memory of adult witnesses. Six truth telling and six lying adult witnesses testified about a staged crime. Mock jurors (N = 122) viewed the witnesses? testimony either live or on video and rated their perception and assessed the veracity of the witnesses. In addition, we examined the observers? memory of the statements. Live observers rated the witnesses? appearance in more positive terms and perceived them as being more honest than did video observers. Observers rated liars as having to think harder than truth tellers. The observers who had watched truthful statements showed a significantly better memory performance than observers who had watched deceptive statements. Study ΙΙ investigated how children?s live and videotaped testimonies affect observers? perception, veracity assessments and memory. Fourteen children either experienced an event (an interaction with a stranger) or learned about the event by hearsay. All children testified about the event as if having experienced it. Mock jurors (N = 136) viewed the children?s testimonies either live or on video, and rated their perception of the children?s statement and appearance, and assessed the children?s veracity. In addition, their memory of the children?s statement was examined. Live observers rated the children?s statements as being more convincing than did video observers. The observers rated the lying children as having to think harder than the truth telling children. Live observers (but not video observers) were better than chance in assessing the children?s veracity. Live observers believed they had a better memory of the children?s statements than video observers, and they also showed a significantly better memory performance. In sum, the two studies show that the type of presentation mode is (a) an essential part of the message, and (b) an important aspect for policy makers to consider when evaluating and reforming courtroom procedures.