Criminology Research Council grant ; (6/90)
Four separate studies were proposed and approved to evaluate the efficacy of props to enhance the reliability of witness report from very young children (3, 4 and 5 year olds). These studies extended the work of O'Callaghan and D'Arcy (1989) which suggested that, contrary to increasing advice in psycholegal literature at that time, props may not achieve this desired effect. The studies examined some of the conditions for which the use of props have been proposed as likely to enhance accuracy of report.
These extended studies, using a more ecologically valid stimulus event than in the original study, have allowed more rigorous examination of conditions under which props may be useful as retrieval cues.