Problems of Forensic Sciences 2016 Vol. 105 (CV) 394-407
PROSECUTOR APPRENTICES AND LAYPEOPLE’S KNOWLEDGE ON EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY ISSUES
Joanna KABZIŃSKA
University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Faculty in Katowice, Katowice, Poland
Streszczenie
The main purpose of this article is to address the issue of legal professional’s psychological knowledge. In this study the knowledge of (soon to become) legal professionals i.e. prosecutor apprentices (N = 72) concerning psychology of eyewitness testimony was examined via 10-item survey questionnaire referring to selected eyewitness testimony phenomena. Subsequently their responses were compared to those given by laypeople (N = 73). The general percentage of correct responses did not differentiate between prosecutor apprentices and laypeople. Nevertheless, laypeople seem to be more knowledgeable than prosecutor apprentices on particular issues concerning the forgetting curve, weapon focus effect, the effect of question wording on eyewitness responses and unconscious transference. The legal professionals’ insufficient psychological knowledge may have a negative impact on their ability to assess the credibility of eyewitness evidence.
Słowa kluczowe
Legal decision making; Eyewitness testimony; Credibility of eyewitness evidence.