Consideration of Prior Evaluation on the Capacity of Children’s Testimony: Focused on Children’s Understanding of Truth and Lie

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Korean Journal of Psychology: General

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P-ISSN1229-067X
E-ISSN2734-1127
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Vol.32 No.3

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Consideration of Prior Evaluation on the Capacity of Children’s Testimony: Focused on Children’s Understanding of Truth and Lie

Korean Journal of Psychology: General / Korean Journal of Psychology: General, (P)1229-067X; (E)2734-1127

2013, v.32 no.3, pp.701-717

(2013). Consideration of Prior Evaluation on the Capacity of Children’s Testimony: Focused on Children’s Understanding of Truth and Lie. Korean Journal of Psychology: General, 32(3), 701-717.

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Abstract

There are various assessments regarding the ways in which to evaluate children’s competency to testify before the investigative and/or forensic interview proceeds. Basic competencies of children to testify concerning the ability to perceive, remember and communicate events could be demonstrated by prompting the children’s report of a recent event. Among the basic competencies, the focus has been on children’s truth-lie competency which concerns children’s understanding of the difference between truth and lies and the recognition of the importance of telling the truth. Children’s truth-lie competency has been evaluated by procedures such as asking children whether simple statements are true or not, and by asking children to promise to tell the truth. Researchers and legal professionals in America and Britain have incessantly discussed whether child victims and witnesses are required to establish truth-lie competency before being allowed to testify. Unfortunately, there have been only a limited number of studies in Korea up to now with respect to the systematic and analytical ways of evaluating children’s competency to testify and how these competencies may associate with the actual accuracy of children’s testimony. Thus, the goals of this paper were to deliberate the difficulties children have in testifying about the truth and lies by studying psychological perspectives on the emergence of children’s understanding of truth and lie, children’s moral evaluation of truth and lies, and children’s understanding of the intentionality of lies, in particular. Ultimately, this organization of knowledge would be helpful in apprehending how children’s competency to testify in court should be evaluated and interpreted during investigative and/or forensic interviews.

keywords: 진실, 거짓, 도덕성, 의도성, 아동 증언, truth, lies, morality, intentionality, children's testimony

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Article Contents

Vol.32 No.3

Consideration of Prior Evaluation on the Capacity of Children’s Testimony: Focused on Children’s Understanding of Truth and Lie

Abstract

Reference

Korean Journal of Psychology: General