A Preliminary Exploration of the Multimedia Principle's Applicability for Improving Comprehension of Youth Interrogation Rights

Abstract

We examined the extent to which presenting youth interrogation rights using different combinations of three multimedia elements (Animation, Audio, and Caption) improved comprehension. A 2 (Animation: Present, Absent) × 2 (Audio: Present, Absent) × 2 (Caption: Present, Absent) between-participants design was employed using samples of adults (Experiment 1: N = 207) and youth (Experiment 2: N = 193). Participants in both experiments were shown one of eight multimedia presentations and asked about their understanding of the presented youth interrogation rights. In both experiments, the multimedia presentation that contained animation and caption led to the highest level of comprehension. Implications of these findings for protecting youth and the use of technology during interrogations are discussed.

Keywords: appropriate adults; interrogation rights comprehension; investigative interviewing; police cautions; youth.

Figure 1:

The Mean Percentage Comprehension Scores and Associated 95% Confidence Intervals for Responses to the Open-Ended Recalls per Condition (Experiment 1, N = 207 Adults)

Figure 2:

The Mean Percentage Comprehension Scores and Associated 95% Confidence Intervals for Responses to the Open-Ended Recall per Condition (Experiment 2, N = 193 Youth)