Psychology and Law: Analysis of a Child Interview Report

This report analyzes a child interview within a legal context, identifying two key problems: the use of double-barreled questions and yes/no questions. Double-barreled questions, which combine multiple inquiries into one, often lead to confusion and incomplete answers, as illustrated by examples from the interview transcript where the child's responses are unclear or missing essential details. The report references empirical studies, including one on the impact of double-barreled questions on survey accuracy, to explain why these questions are problematic. Additionally, the report addresses the issue of yes/no questions, which limit the child's ability to provide detailed responses and may not accurately reflect their experiences. The analysis cites research highlighting the tendency of children to provide a 'yes' or 'no' answer even when they do not fully understand the question, potentially leading to misinterpretations. The report suggests using open-ended questions to elicit more comprehensive and accurate information from child witnesses. The goal is to provide insights into improving child interview techniques for legal purposes.

Running head: PSYCHOLOGY AND LAW 1
Psychology and law
Name
Institution

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Problem one. Double barreled questions.
This is a general question that contains two or more questions within it but only allows for
one answer to be provided.
Example from the interview:
 His bedroom? Did he say anything when this was going on?
 Can you tell me about the touching? How old were you at this time?
 And so how did you get to his room? Were you already there or…?
Double- barreled questions are often phrased by connecting two unrelated questions while
requesting one answer. Thus only one question is answered in the end. They often cause
confusion since the respondents aren’t sure which question they need to answer and which one
they are supposed to leave out. The answer to the question also confuses the survey creators
since they are not sure which of the questions asked was answered.
These kinds of questions are often used to shorten surveys. Although they might be effective
in this aspect, the answers provided are often inaccurate and unreliable, making the survey a
waste of money and time (Kohatsu, 2019).
In the interview, some of the double barreled questions asked to the child remain unanswered
hence the interviewer did not gather all the answers needed. For example, he did not get
information on how the child got to the room or confirmation from the child that the event
happened in the man’s room. The mistake could have been corrected by asking one question at a
time and waiting for the answer before proceeding to the next question (Leadquizzes, 2019).
Problem two: yes/ no questions

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Yes/ no type questions are closed ended questions that require the respondent to answer the
question simply by saying yes or no.
Examples from the interview:
 Do you remember what presents you got?
 Did you have a theme?
 Did he say anything when this was going on?
 Did that shock you when he did that?
Yes/ no questions limit the kind of response the respondent can give for the question asked.
At times the answers that the respondent wants to give are not that direct and they are forced to
choose an answer that does not necessarily reflect how they feel (survey methods, 2015). Closed
questions sometimes require more clarification hence the interviewer may be forced to ask more
questions that were unplanned so as to get clarification and this can cause time wastage.
In the interview, for example, the interviewer asks the child if the man said anything while the
event was happening. If the child’s response had been yes, he would have had to ask her another
question so as to know what the mas said to her, yet that question was not initially part of the
interview.
The best way to approach such situations is to ask the questions in an open ended way, for
example, instead of asking the child if she said anything to the man he should have asked “what
did you say to him?” so as to get a more direct response (Monster, 2019).

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References
Kohatsu. (2019). Answered: Are Double Barreled Questions Skewing Your Polls? Retrieved
from https://www.pickfu.com/blog/double-barreled-questions/
Leadquizzes. (2019). Double Barreled Question: What It Is and How to Avoid It in Surveys.
Retrieved from https://blog.leadquizzes.com/double-barreled-question/
Monster. (2019). Get tips on how to respond effectively when asked at an interview if you have
any questions. Retrieved from https://www.monster.com/career-advice/article/interview-do-
you-have-any-questions
Survey methods. (2015). Why to Avoid Dichotomous Questions. Retrieved from
https://surveymethods.com/blog/why-to-avoid-dichotomous-questions/