| Recently child witness preparation programs (CWPPs) have become the subject of several investigations. Some CWPP protocols include task demand training and comprehension monitoring training (TDT+CMT) components. The goal of TDT+CMT is to teach children to recognize and respond to linguistic confusion in the courtroom. Evidence suggests this TDT+CMT protocol may work well with child witnesses. However, experience with TDT+CMT may also lead to depreciated credibility. In this investigation, college students (N = 196) acted as mock jurors and were exposed to the testimony of a nine-year-old child witness in a sexual abuse case. The participants were presented with a child who had talked about her CWPP experience or did not, the district and defense attorneys used lawyerese or simple questions during questioning, and the witness responded by requesting rephrasings or simply answering the questions. Results suggest that participants viewed the child witness who talked about her CWPP experience more favorably when she faced lawyerese than when she faced simple questions. Participants also rated the attorneys as more blameworthy for confusing the child witness when the child talked about her CWPP experience and subsequently was subjected to lawyerese. Possible implications for CWPPs are discussed. |
