With age, children become increasingly likely to make initial disclosures of transgressions, such as maltreatment, to peers. The present study examined adults’ credibility evaluations of children’s disclosures to peers across two studies. Study 1 examined credibility evaluations when children disclosed (or concealed) to a peer compared to an adult. Study 2 examined credibility ratings when children disclosed consistently or inconsistently across peer and adult interviews. Children were interviewed by a same-age peer and an adult regarding an event where an adult confederate spilled water on a laptop and broke it. In Study 1, participants heard a child interviewed by either a same-age peer or adult. In Study 2, participants heard a child interviewed by both the same-age peer and adult. In both studies, participants evaluated the child’s credibility. Children who disclosed the transgression were rated as significantly less credible than those who concealed the transgression; however, credibility ratings did not differ by whether the child was interviewed by a peer or adult (Study 1). Furthermore, children who concealed the transgression across both interviews were rated as significantly more credible than children who disclosed in both interviews or disclosed to the peer, but not the adult, interviewer (Study 2). The current study provides the first evidence that peer disclosures may hinder children’s credibility and that adults may be hesitant to believe children’s disclosures of an adult’s transgression.

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There are substantive differences in international preferences in the medium through which eyewitness identification lineups are administered, but these jurisdictional preferences are not based in evidence. Regardless of whether one medium produces greater identification accuracy, it is the perception of evidence strength by triers of fact that determines its influence in judicial proceedings. Yet, we know little about how lineup mediums are perceived by potential triers of fact. Four-hundred and six undergraduate students viewed a video interview of an eyewitness describing an identification that took place with one of three different lineup mediums (live, video, photo) to compare their relative persuasiveness. Participants also directly compared mediums. There was a clear preference for evidence elicited from live lineups in direct comparisons, but not in the experimental conditions. Live lineup superiority beliefs exist in policy and, these data show, in the beliefs of potential witnesses and triers of fact when various lineup mediums are directly compared.

L'effet du stress perc ¸u sur les comportements d'absente ´isme et de pre ´sente ´isme : le ro ˆle me ´diateur de l'e ´tat de sante Ḿartin Lauzier, Ste ´phanie Melanc ¸on et Karine Co ˆte 231 Un nouveau mode `le d'engagement conjugal : validation du Questionnaire multimodal d'engagement conjugal

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