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Law and Psychology

Selected Works

A. Publications in Peer-reviewed Journals

Articles 31 - 39 of 39

Full-Text Articles in Law

10. Development Of Temporal-Reconstructive Abilities., William J. Friedman, Thomas D. Lyon Nov 2005

10. Development Of Temporal-Reconstructive Abilities., William J. Friedman, Thomas D. Lyon

Thomas D. Lyon

In a study of the ability to reconstruct the times of past events, 86 children from 4 to 13 years recalled the times of 2 in-class demonstrations that had occurred 3 months earlier and judged the times of hypothetical events. Many of the abilities needed to reconstruct the times of events were present by 6 years, including the capacity to interpret many temporally relevant cues, but there were substantial changes well into middle childhood in the availability of temporally useful episodic information. Children were poor at remembering the events’ proximity or order with respect to a major holiday, but the …


8. The Science Of Child Sexual Abuse., Jennifer J. Freyd, Frank W. Putnam, Thomas D. Lyon, Kathryn A. Becker-Blease, Ross E. Cheit, Nancy B. Siegel, Kathy Pezdek Oct 2005

8. The Science Of Child Sexual Abuse., Jennifer J. Freyd, Frank W. Putnam, Thomas D. Lyon, Kathryn A. Becker-Blease, Ross E. Cheit, Nancy B. Siegel, Kathy Pezdek

Thomas D. Lyon

Child sexual abuse (CSA) involving sexual contact between an adult (usually male) and a child has been reported by 20% of women and 5 to 10% of men worldwide (1–3). Surveys likely underestimate prevalence because of underreporting and memory failure (4–6). Although official reports have declined somewhat in the United States over the past decade (7), close to 90% of sexual abuse cases are never reported to the authorities (8).


7. Why Child Maltreatment Researchers Should Include Children’S Disability Status In Their Maltreatment Studies., Kathleen Kendall-Tackett, Thomas D. Lyon, Greg Taliaferro Aug 2005

7. Why Child Maltreatment Researchers Should Include Children’S Disability Status In Their Maltreatment Studies., Kathleen Kendall-Tackett, Thomas D. Lyon, Greg Taliaferro

Thomas D. Lyon

Approximately8%of children in the US have disabilities (US Census Bureau, 2002), and these children are more likely to be abused or neglected than their non-disabled peers. The studies that have identified this vulnerability have varied in methodology and sample, and yet the findings have been remarkably consistent. But much work still needs to be done to know the magnitude of the problem, and what professionals can do to help. We are writing to encourage researchers in the child maltreatment field to include children’s disability status in their studies of abuse and neglect. Below is a summary of what …


6. Reducing Maltreated Children’S Reluctance To Answer Hypothetical Oath-Taking Competency Questions., Thomas D. Lyon, Karen J. Saywitz, Debra Kaplan, Joyce S. Dorado Dec 2000

6. Reducing Maltreated Children’S Reluctance To Answer Hypothetical Oath-Taking Competency Questions., Thomas D. Lyon, Karen J. Saywitz, Debra Kaplan, Joyce S. Dorado

Thomas D. Lyon

Before allowing child witnesses to testify, courts routinely require children to describe what would happen to them if they lied. However, young children often refuse to reason hypothetically if they view the premises as implausible or undesirable, and might be more willing to discuss the consequences of lying if they are asked about another child rather than themselves. On the other hand, children might view themselves as invulnerable to punishment, and therefore believe that whereas other children will be punished for lying, they will not be. In this study, 64 maltreated 5- and 6-year-old children were asked to describe the …


5. Young Maltreated Children’S Competence To Take The Oath., Thomas D. Lyon, Karen J. Saywitz Dec 1998

5. Young Maltreated Children’S Competence To Take The Oath., Thomas D. Lyon, Karen J. Saywitz

Thomas D. Lyon

Two studies examined I92 maltreated young children's competence to take the oath.  Study I found that despite serious delays in receptive vocabulary, a majority of 5-year-olds correctly identified truthful statements and lies as such and recognized that lying is bad and would make authority figures mad. However, most participants up to 7 years of age could not define "truth" and "lie" or explain the difference between the terms. Four-year-olds were above chance in recognizing the immorality of lying but exhibited a tendency to identify all statements as the "truth. " Study 2 found that 4- and 5-year-olds performed above chance …


4. Reasoning About Moral Aspects Of Illness And Treatment By Preschoolers Who Are Healthy Or Have A Chronic Illness., Pamela M. Kato, Thomas D. Lyon Dec 1997

4. Reasoning About Moral Aspects Of Illness And Treatment By Preschoolers Who Are Healthy Or Have A Chronic Illness., Pamela M. Kato, Thomas D. Lyon

Thomas D. Lyon

Our study evaluates the moral reasoning skills of healthy and chronically ill 3 and 4 year olds with respect to illness and treatment, by use of an interview technique that reduces verbal demands on the child, We presented children with pairs of scenarios comparing ill characters with characters acting immorally and characters being punished, as well as with pairs of scenarios comparing treated characters with characters acting immorally and characters being punished. We asked children to point to the character who did something "naughty." With the exception of the chronically ill 3 year olds, the children performed consistently above chance …


3. False Allegations And False Denials In Child Sexual Abuse., Thomas D. Lyon Jan 1995

3. False Allegations And False Denials In Child Sexual Abuse., Thomas D. Lyon

Thomas D. Lyon

The amicus brief in the Kelly Michaels case ignores the risks that abused children will fail to reveal abuse unless direct and sometimes leading questions are asked. Although the brief correctly criticizes previous research for understating the risks that aggressive interviewing practices will lead young children to make false allegations of abuse, it overstates the likelihood that false allegations occur by overlooking the aspects of the Kelly Michaels case and the research it inspired that are unlike the typical abuse case.  The author discusses factors that lead abused children to falsely deny abuse and that minimize the likelihood that nonabused …


2. Young Children's Understanding Of "Remember" And "Forget.", Thomas D. Lyon, John H. Flavell Jan 1994

2. Young Children's Understanding Of "Remember" And "Forget.", Thomas D. Lyon, John H. Flavell

Thomas D. Lyon

LYON, THOMAS D., and FLAVELL, JOHN H. YOUNG Children's Understanding of "Remember" and "Forget." CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1994, 65, 1357-1371.3 studies examined young children's understanding that if one "remembers" or "forgot," one must have known at a prior time. In Study 1,4-year-olds but not 3-year-olds understood the prior knowledge component of "forgot"; both groups understood that a character with prior knowledge was "gonna remember." Study 2 controlled for the possibility that good performance on "remember" might be due to a simple association of remembering with knowledge. A significant number of 4-year-olds but not 3-year olds understood that when 2 characters currently …


1. Young Children's Understanding Of Forgetting Over Time., Thomas D. Lyon, John H. Flavell May 1993

1. Young Children's Understanding Of Forgetting Over Time., Thomas D. Lyon, John H. Flavell

Thomas D. Lyon

2 studies investigated young children's understanding that as the retention interval increases, so do the chances that one will forget. In Study 1 (24 3-year-olds and 24 4-year-olds), 4-year-olds but not 3-year-olds understood that of 2 characters who simultaneously saw an object, the character who waited longer before attempting to find it would not remember where it was. In study 2 (24 3-year-olds and 24 4-year-olds), 4-year-olds but not 3-year-olds understood that of 2 objects seen by a character, the object that was seen a "long long time ago" would be forgotten and the object seen "a little while ago" …