When a person experiences an event that has multiple similar instances (i.e., a repeated event), memories for details that change across instances can be challenging to recall (e.g., Fivush, 1984). We expected that third parties would perceive memory reports of instances of repeated events as less credible than unique (i.e., single) events.Undergraduates participated in a single or repeated event, during which critical details were presented. Participants were asked to recall the session 2-days later, and memory reports were video recorded. New participants then viewed one video and evaluated the credibility of the speaker's memory report. Despite the reports being equally accurate, repeated-event reports were seen as less credible than single-event reports. Although credibility research in the context of repeated events has focused exclusively on child populations, a range of applications exists for adults (e.g., criminal and industrial eyewitnesses, asylum-seekers); we discussed our findings in these areas.

Witnesses to industrial incidents may be asked to recall a single instance of a familiar event. This research systematically tested if deviations to what typically occurs and postevent information (PEI) enhanced reporting of an instance of a repeated event. Across 2 experiments, each participant experienced 5 food-tasting instances; these instances comprised the repeated event. Half of the participants in both Experiments 1 (continuous deviation setting) and 2 (continuous deviation integrated) experienced a deviation to how the third instance occurred. Also, half of the participants in both experiments received PEI about the third instance. All participants demonstrated superior reporting for the first instance of the repeated event. The continuous deviation setting in Experiment 1 enhanced reporting for all 5 instances of the repeated event (general effect). In Experiment 2, participants who received a continuous deviation integrated and PEI demonstrated superior reporting for the first and third instances of the event (targeted effect). KEYWORDS deviation, eyewitness memory, occupational health and safety (OHS) investigation, postevent information, repeated event

Until the latter part of the 20th century, legal doctrines made it almost impossible to successfully prosecute in criminal court a case involving child sexual abuse (CSA), whether the complaint was timely or delayed. Many English-speaking countries have abrogated most formal legal barriers to prosecuting CSA cases, and courts are faced with the singular challenge of adjudicating sexual offenses against children that are reported to have happened years or decades earlier. We conducted analyses of 4,237 criminal complaints of CSA heard in Canadian criminal courts. There were several differences between timely and delayed prosecutions that led us to conclude that delayed prosecutions of CSA are common and due, in part, to the nature of the offense. Offense duration was associated with longer delays to prosecution. When the accused had access to the child through his position in the community, length of delay to prosecution was very long, particularly for male complainants. More research is needed on delayed CSA prosecutions, particularly given an apparent trend for jurisdictions to abolish barriers to criminal prosecutions of CSA that occurred years or decades earlier.

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