How temperament impacts children as eyewitnesses

The article examines how temperament influences children‘s reliability and performance as eyewitnesses – an area that remains underexplored compared to factors like question types and cognitive abilities. Temperament, defined as early-appearing and genetically influenced behavioral traits, may shape children ‘s memory encoding and their resistance to suggestive questioning. Key dimensions such as activity level, adaptability, distractibility, emotionality, persistence, and shyness are analysed for their impact on eyewitness testimony. The findings suggest that traits like high distractibility or shyness can impair encoding and recall, while adaptability and persistence tend to enhance performance. However, challenges in measuring temperament and inconsistencies in findings highlight the need for improved methodologies. By considering temperament as a critical factor, forensic interviews can be better tailored to accommodate individual children, ultimately enhancing the reliability of their testimony.