Mock jurors' evaluations of child sexual abuse: The impact of memory recovery and therapeutic intervention

The present research assessed whether mock jurors' decisions in a case involving allegations of child sexual abuse would be influenced by (I) the nature of the plaintiff's memory of the abuse (repressed, nonrepressed) and (2) therapeutic intervention (present, absent). Participants (N=123) were given a trial summary in which the plaintiff's memory and involvement in therapy were systematically varied to produce four conditions. Although verdicts varied only by sex of participant, some judgments of the plaintiff's claim were more favorable to the plaintiff in the non-repressed condition. Female participants were also less likely to believe that the claim involving memory repression was truthful when the woman was in therapy as opposed to not in therapy. Results also indicated that people who were aware of ''False Memory Syndrome'' were more likely to think the plaintiff was lying and less likely to think she was telling the truth compared to those who were not aware.