690 TRANSACTIONS OF SUB-SECTION I. 
That different colours were actually perceived is inferred from the striking 
difference between the scores for Red and Green (or Blue), and between the 
scores for Green (or Blue) and Violet, though these were equally bright. 
2. Modern Experimental Investigation of Testimony. 
By T. H. Pear, B.Sc. 
Previous experimental investigations. 
Two points which have not yet been settled, and about which great differences 
of opinion exist in current psychological and legal literature :— 
(1) Is the unreliability of the testimony of normal children as great as pre- 
vious writers have believed? If so, what factors affect this circumstance? 
(2) How great is the reliability of the testimony of the mentally defective 
child? Does it differ qualitatively as well as quantitatively from that of the 
normal child? 
Legal significance of these questions. 
The ‘event’ test and the ‘picture’ test; their relative advantages. 
Description of the present experiments. Combination of the advantages of 
hoth the above tests. The same test applied to both normal and mentally 
defective children of the same ages (11 to 14 years), and of both sexes. Rela- 
tively large number of subjects; 65 normal and 78 mental defectives. 
The pre-arranged event. Reasons for selection of interval between event and 
first testimony (20 hours), and second testimony (seven weeks). 
The ‘narrative’ (Bericht), and the ‘interrogatory’ (Verhér), Their effect 
on the reports given. 
Points of special psychological interest in connection with the reports, 
e.g., testimony for colours, estimation of time, size, distribution of interest, 
effect of past experience. Suggestibility of the two classes of children qualita- 
tively and quantitatively indicated. 
Reconstruction of the event from the majority of replies given in each school. 
The relation of this ‘reconstructed event’ to the actual occurrence. 
Estimation of the value of the evidence of the normal and of the mentally 
defective. Individual differences in both classes. Comparison of the classes. 
The question of sex differences. 
Correlation between the capacity to give reliable testimony and general 
intelligence. 
Correlation between total number of items reported by any individual and 
their reliability. 
3. The Testimony of Normal and Mentally Defective Children. 
By Stantey Wyatt. 
A. ‘ Narrative.’ 
1. Range and Accuracy. 
The number of items correct and incorrect was determined for each of 
the groups tested. A remarkably high degree of accuracy was found to exist 
in every case, hence in this respect the children’s evidence is exceedingly 
reliable. The length of the descriptions given by the mentally defective 
children was appreciably less than that of the normal children. Individual 
differences were well marked throughout. 
2. Classification into Categories. 
The results were arranged in categories of colours, shapes, sizes, positions, 
actions, sequence, and items (these included ‘personal items’ such as articles of 
dress and personal features, in addition to items not directly associated with 
the lady and-gentleman who carried out the event). Such a classification dis- 
closed a very unequal distribution of interest in the various components of the 
event. The Narrative chiefly consisted of a description of actions, items, and 
positions; the accounts of the other categories were relatively insignificant. 
