The effect of uniform and prior knowledge on children's event reports and disclosure of secrets

Abstract

The present paper examined the effect of police uniform on the accuracy of 6- to 8-year-old children's reports about an event and it explored the roles that interviewer prior knowledge and social status play in mediating any effects of uniform. Two studies were conducted; in the first study, interviewers wore uniforms that were independent of a forensic context whereas in the second study, the interviews were conducted by police officers who wore either uniform or civilian clothes. Children reported more information (accurate, as well as inaccurate) to a police interviewer in civilian clothes compared to uniform. This finding was found only in the police uniform context. Interviewer's prior knowledge had no impact on the children's reports in either context. The likely impact of police uniform is discussed.