Final answer:
It is false that you should question a child about abuse experiences and record their answers when they confide in you. Such action can lead to misinformation effects and additional trauma. Proper handling involves referring the situation to trained professionals without engaging in potentially harmful questioning.
Step-by-step explanation:
If a child confides in you that they have been or are being abused, the answer is false; you should not question them about their experiences and record their answers. It's important to handle such situations with utmost sensitivity and safeguard the child's well-being. While Loftus does emphasize skepticism regarding the accuracy of recovered memories of childhood abuse, particularly due to potential misinformation effects, immediate questioning by non-trained personnel can be harmful and lead to further trauma.
It is crucial for professionals, such as teachers, law enforcement personnel, and social services staff, who make up a significant portion of individuals reporting child abuse, to be aware of the appropriate protocols. This includes understanding that children's eyewitness memory can be highly malleable and susceptible to suggestion. Therefore, a delicate balance must be struck between attending to the child's immediate safety and ensuring that the process does not inadvertently create 'false memories' or 'false memory syndrome' as it is sometimes known.
Children who are victims of abuse need their experiences to be handled by trained professionals who know how to navigate these sensitive issues without causing additional harm. For individuals who are not trained in these areas, the best course of action is to refer the matter to the appropriate child protective services or agencies specialized in dealing with such cases.