Psychological aspects of old men testimony

• Main Author: Brkić Snežana
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Law 2012-01-01
• Series: Zbornik Radova: Pravni Fakultet u Novom Sadu
• Subjects: witness; the aged; perception; memory; sensual sensitivity; experience; intelligence; emotion; motivation; suggestibility
• Online Access: http://scindeks-clanci.ceon.rs/data/pdf/0550-2179/2012/0550-21791204193B.pdf
• ISSN: 0550-2179; 2406-1255

Aging does not exclude some person s potential witness, but it is factor which can exert influence on tactics of examination of witness. it also influences the evaluation of testimony. Therefore, it is important to know the specific psychological functions of old men, which are in relation with testimony. The most important psychological functions are perception and memory. There are some negative subjective factors by aging as: weakening of sensul sensitivity, weakening of memory, reducing of intelligence, decelerating of psychomotor functions and negative influence of emotional and motivating process on perception. However, we must know that there are some individual differences between old people. Therefore, we should not deny the aged as a witness. The judge must always check the sensual sensitivity of witness, by putting the questions, by court's experiment or by psychological expert opinion. We must also take into consideration the specific features of the aged, when we interrogate them as a witness. In this sense, we can give some recommendations in regard to place, time and manner of their interrogation. That treatment has to enable the accurate and complete statement, from one side, and it also has to disable the harmful effect of criminal procedure to witness, psyche, from the other side.