Child Memory – Arizona Forensic Services, LLC

An Introduction to Forensic Child Interviews

This resource surveys research and guidance on interviewing child witnesses, including techniques that can distort children’s reports. It discusses reinforcement, peer information, speculation, rapport, and open-ended questioning, then includes studies on interviewer practices, remote interviews, and children’s responses to “I don’t know” instructions.

Memory in the Courtroom: What Every Attorney Should Know

Eye witness testimony is central to almost every aspect of a criminal proceedings. Yet this central dynamic is rarely taught for attorneys. Dr. Simpson has provided this training for the State Bar of Arizona (ten times), for the Pima County Public Defender’s Office, and multiple legal offices for the Air Force and Marine JAGS. This 199-page seminar handout is packed with research regarding:

Principles of memory
Memory “failures”
Suggestibility
Eyewitness memory
Cognitive interview techniques
Child eyewitness memory
The NICHD Standard
Alcoholic blackout
Childhood amnesic barrier
Confirmation bias
Context effect
Cross-race effects
Cryptomnesia
Egocentric bias
Fading affect bias
Self-generation effect
Hindsight bias
Illusion-of-Truth effect
Imagination Inflation
Leveling and Sharpening
Misattribution of Memory
Misinformation effect
Mood-congruent memory
Schema / Script memory
Gist memory
Telescoping effect
Weapon focus

CHILD: Memory and Delay Effects

Delayed recall can affect how much information children remember about witnessed events. The source reviews a study comparing children and adults over a five-month interval, then discusses broader research on children’s suggestibility and the implications for investigative interviews.