Avatars in child investigative interviews: supporting disclosure and eyewitness memory through technology
type: CreativeWork
description: This thesis explored the use of human-operated avatars and how this affects the quality and quantity of child forensic disclosure, episodic recall, and susceptibility to false information during investigative interviews. The research also captured the concerns and recommendations from child forensics interviewers for applying avatar technologies in practice. Recent legislative changes under the Scottish Child Interview Model have ushered in trauma-informed ‘safe spaces’ for children to be interviewed when they experience crime or abuse. The incorporation of technologies, such as the pre-recording of evidence, is intended to make the disclosure process more accessible for vulnerable witnesses, preventing the need for children to attend court, and avoid drawn-out trial proceedings. Remote, online interviewing has also been introduced in some courtroom-based contexts to reduce witness anxiety. In addition, virtual characters, e.g., avatars, are becoming increasingly common across many professional fields, including healthcare, counselling, and education. However, the use of avatars as investigative interviewers specifically for children and adolescents is comparatively under-researched. This thesis investigated whether avatars might facilitate or hinder adolescents’ disclosure and memory recall, similar to other computer-mediated interactions and online disclosure methods. This research used a mixed-methods approach, comprising a survey study, two experimental studies, and a qualitative study. Study 1, an online survey, collected information on children and adolescents’ preferred forensic disclosure recipients based on crime type and preferred disclosure recipient characteristics. The recipient characteristics included age, gender, and whether the disclosure interaction was online, face to face, with a human virtual character, or a non-human virtual character. The purpose of this study was to identify fruitful directions in designing avatar interviewers, based on prefe…
abstract: This thesis explored the use of human-operated avatars and how this affects the quality and quantity of child forensic disclosure, episodic recall, and susceptibility to false information during investigative interviews. The research also captured the concerns and recommendations from child forensics interviewers for applying avatar technologies in practice. Recent legislative changes under the Scottish Child Interview Model have ushered in trauma-informed ‘safe spaces’ for children to be interviewed when they experience crime or abuse. The incorporation of technologies, such as the pre-recording of evidence, is intended to make the disclosure process more accessible for vulnerable witnesses, preventing the need for children to attend court, and avoid drawn-out trial proceedings. Remote, online interviewing has also been introduced in some courtroom-based contexts to reduce witness anxiety. In addition, virtual characters, e.g., avatars, are becoming increasingly common across many professional fields, including healthcare, counselling, and education. However, the use of avatars as investigative interviewers specifically for children and adolescents is comparatively under-researched. This thesis investigated whether avatars might facilitate or hinder adolescents’ disclosure and memory recall, similar to other computer-mediated interactions and online disclosure methods. This research used a mixed-methods approach, comprising a survey study, two experimental studies, and a qualitative study. Study 1, an online survey, collected information on children and adolescents’ preferred forensic disclosure recipients based on crime type and preferred disclosure recipient characteristics. The recipient characteristics included age, gender, and whether the disclosure interaction was online, face to face, with a human virtual character, or a non-human virtual character. The purpose of this study was to identify fruitful directions in designing avatar interviewers, based on prefe…
author: Conway, Sam
language: eng
keywords: Avatars, Virtual characters, Investigative interviewing, Disclosure, Episodic memory, Suggestibility, Children, Adolescents
date published: 2025-11-3
date modified: 2026-07-24T00:50:29Z
provider: Abertay University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Abertay University