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Abstract
This study examines mock jurors’ perceptions of a young witness according to whether or not he was described as having an intellectual disability. Our study examined perceptions of a child witness younger (five or seven years) than previously studied. Mock jurors (n = 71) viewed a short video excerpt of a boy recalling a personally experienced event, and then rated him across nine domains of eyewitness ability. The boy was described as either having an intellectual disability or typically developing. Participants rated the child more negatively on dimensions relating to cognitive competence, but not trustworthiness, when he was presented as having an intellectual disability. Participants also watched the child answer a series of suggestive questions; when described as having an intellectual disability he was rated as less accurate in responding to these. The findings have implications for the involvement of children with intellectual disabilities within the legal system.
Acknowledgements
This study was made possible through a small grant from the Faculty of Science and Technology, Lancaster University, to the first author. The first author’s time was supported by a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, NZ (LANC0201). Preparation of the materials was made possible by funding from the Economic & Social Research Council, UK (RES-000-23-0949). The authors would like to thank the parents of the child shown on the video excerpt for permission to use his tape in the study, Dr Rob Lowe and Dr Jacqueline Harrison for assistance with data collection, and His Honour Judge Iain Hamilton for his careful analysis of how children and individuals with learning disabilities are introduced as witnesses.