False Memory and Suggestibility

Chapter 10 of the Litigator’s Handbook of Forensic Medicine, Psychiatry, and Psychology discusses false memory and suggestibility. Authored by Mary Lynn Hoffman, Ph.D. and Demosthenes Lorandos, Ph.D., J.D., the chapter illustrates how memory is much more complicated than a video recording. Memories are actually constructed by our minds based on previous knowledge and those pieces of events we remember; and as a constructive event, recall can easily become distorted–producing false memories. A complex field of study, when a witness, and in particular a child witness, comes forward with disputed testimony, proper expertise in memory, suggestibility and misattribution is imperative if lawyers, jurists and, most importantly, the finder of fact, is to sort out the truth. 

This chapter from the Litigator’s Handbook on False Memory & Suggestibility provides detailed guidance, from thorough coverage of the science of memory and proper interviewing protocols to suggested voir dire for both direct-and cross-examination of experts. Focusing on child testimony while also discussing adult suggestibility, particular topics include: 

•  Building blocks of false memory in children 

•  Competency and reliability 

•  Common juror misperceptions of child testimony 

•  Expert witness qualifications 

•  Impact of naturally occurring conversations 

•  Clinical versus forensic goals 

•  Child suggestibility 

•  Anatomical dolls & drawings 

•  False memories and witness reliability 

•  Role of the memory & suggestibility expert 

•  Common misperceptions of allegations of abuse 

•  Lack of proper interview recording &the difficulty of reconstructing an unrecorded interview 

•  Adult suggestibility 

•  Interviewer bias 

•  Negative effects of cross-examination 

•  Negative impact of parental questioning 

•  Failure to document alternative hypotheses 

• Sample cross-examination and direct examination questions 

Providing a thorough introduction to the fundamental factors of memory and suggestibility, this chapter will enable attorneys and experts to proffer (and judges to admit) competent and reliable expert testimony and keep unqualified, inadequate opinions from the jury. Replete with scholarly and legal cases that illustrate each point, the chapter on False Memory & Suggestibility is essential for anyone faced with difficult and/or questionable testimony.