Philosophy Dictionary of ArgumentsHome
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| Suggestibility: Suggestibility in psychology refers to the degree to which individuals accept and internalize ideas or information suggested by others. It involves the tendency to conform to others' opinions or incorporate misleading information into one's memory and beliefs. Suggestibility varies among individuals and can be influenced by factors like authority, persuasion techniques, and the individual's mental state or susceptibility. See also Beliefs, Thinking, Groupthink, Forensic interviews, Persuasion, Group dominance, Authority, Power, Conformity, Self._____________Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments. | |||
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Psychological Theories on Suggestibility - Dictionary of Arguments
Slater I 102 Suggestibility/children/psychological theories: In the 1980s there were a number of false statements by children leading to convictions in cases of alleged child abuse. This led to psychological studies of interview methods that could suggest false statements or false memories to children. (Goodman 2006)(1). Some cases were reviewed by Ceci and Bruck (1993)(2) VsBruck/VsCeci: for critiques of Ceci and Bruck’s description of these cases, see Cheit & Mervis (2007)(3), and Myers (1995)(4). Slater I 103 The start of systematic research on children’s suggestibility is often credited to European psychologists, in particular to Binet’s (1900)(5) publication of La suggestibilité. Among the findings of Binet’s experiments and of those of his contemporaries such as Stern, Varendock, and Lipmann were the harmful effects of repeated leading questioning, and the advantages of using free recall over closed-ended yes-no questions. Although many of the findings showed that children’s errors in testimony are in great part the result of non-optimal questioning, many professionals at the time insisted that children should not serve as witnesses (Goodman, 1984)(6). For research in the USA see >Suggestibility/Ceci/Bruck. (Ceci & Bruck 1993)(2) Explanation of false testimony/suggestibility: trace theory (a precursor to Brainerd and Reyna’s current Fuzzy Trace Theory; see Brainerd, Reyna, & Ceci, 2008(7)) and source monitoring theory Slater I 104 (Johnson & Raye, 1981(8); Mitchell & Johnson, 2009(9)), as applied to issues of memory malleability and suggestibility in children compared to adults. A.Trace theory: trace theory as applied to children’s false memory suggests that memories are stored in two separate “traces.” One is the “verbatim trace,” which consists of rich surface detail about the event. The other is the “gist trace”; this trace is a more general, summarized version of the meaning of the event. The verbatim trace decays rapidly, and therefore over time people are left to rely on their “gist trace” for a memory report. According to this theory, developmental differences exist in reliance on verbatim versus gist traces. B. Source monitoring theory: source monitoring theory posits that suggestibility arises from an individual’s inability to determine the correct origin of remembered information. Thesis: errors can occur when a child fails to differentiate the source of information (e.g., an interviewer verbally providing postevent misinformation to the child, which would count as one source of information, versus the child actually having witnessed or experienced the event, which would count as an alternative source of information). Cf. >Suggestibility/Social psychology, >Suggestibility/biological theories. Slater I 106 Stress/arousal/suggestibility/psychological theories: Older literature, such as that reviewed by Ceci and Bruck, often used the term “arousal” or “stress” in what is now considered a fairly imprecise way. Currently, researchers would likely differentiate between a valence dimension (from positive to negative) and an arousal dimension (from boring to exciting; Bradley & Lang, 1994)(10). Experiences that produce affect at the intersection of negative valence and high arousal would be of most relevance to child witness research. In contrast to the dimensional approach, other theorists now contend that discrete emotions, such as “distress,” “fear,” or “anger,” should be studied in relation to child witness memory and suggestibility (Davis, Quas, & Levine, 2008)(11). 1. Goodman, G. S. (2006). Children’s eyewitness memory: A modern history and contemporary commentary. Journal of Social Issues, 62, 811–832. 2. Ceci, S. J., & Bruck, M. (1993). The suggestibility of the child witness: A historical review and synthesis. Psychological Bulletin, 113, 403–439. 3. Cheit, R., & Mervis, D. (2007). Myths about the country walk case. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 16, 95–115. 4. Myers, J. E. B. (1995). New era of skepticism regarding children’s credibility. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 1, 387–398. 5. Binet, A. (1900). La suggestibility (Suggestibility). Paris: Schleicher Frères. 6. Goodman, G. S. (1984). Children’s testimony in historical perspective. Journal of Social issues, 40, 9-31 7. Brainerd, C. J., Reyna, V. F., & Ceci, S. J. (2008). Developmental reversals in false memory: A review of data and theory. Psychological Bulletin, 134, 343–382. 8. Johnson, M. K., & Raye, C. L. (1981). Reality monitoring. Psychological Review, 88, 67–85. 9. Mitchell, K. J., & Johnson, M. K. (2009). Source monitoring 15 years later: What have we learned from fMRI about the neural mechanisms of source memory? Psychological Bulletin, 135, 638–677. 10. Bradley, M. M., & Lang, P. J. (1994). Measuring emotion: The self-assessment manikin and the semantic differential. Journal of Behavioral Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 25, 49–59. 11. Davis, E. L., Quas, J. A., & Levine, L. (2008). Children’s memory for stressful events: Exploring the role of discrete emotions. In M. L. Howe, G. S. Goodman, & D. Cicchetti (Eds), Stress, trauma, and children’s memory development (pp. 236–264). New York: Oxford University Press. Kelly McWilliams, Daniel Bederian-Gardner, Sue D. Hobbs, Sarah Bakanosky, and Gail S. Goodman, „Children’s Eyewitness Memory and Suggestibility. Revisiting Ceci and Bruck’s (1993) Review“, in: Alan M. Slater & Paul C. Quinn (eds.) 2012. Developmental Psychology. Revisiting the Classic Studies. London: Sage Publications_____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
Psychological Theories Slater I Alan M. Slater Paul C. Quinn Developmental Psychology. Revisiting the Classic Studies London 2012 |
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> Counter arguments in relation to Suggestibility
Ed. Martin Schulz, access date 2024-04-20