What does it mean to understand and answer simple questions? Young children's evidentiary testimony within the paradigm of discourse pragmatics

• Main Author: Battin, David B
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01.01.2004
• Subjects: Child psychology; Criminology; Expert witness testimony; Interpersonal communication
• ISBN: 9780542032486; 0542032481

Extensive research has investigated the behavior of young children in actual and analogous situations being interviewed as part of a forensic process. The studies reported here focuses on the child's ability to accomplish singular definite reference of a person observed committing a salient act while engaged in a mundane activity as part of a group of four persons. One hundred four children aged 36 months to 120 months participated in three experiments that compared accuracy of identification and referential devices used in making identification as a result of manipulating the type of interview introduction used (i.e. with pragmatic instruction or without) and the moral valence of the salient act (i.e. positive or negative). Contrasts between younger and older children in the various conditions are reported with consistent results indicating that younger children are at a disadvantage in accomplishing the referential communication task. The phenomenon of children's evidentiary testimony is described using the taxonomy of developmental discourse pragmatics.