1 - blandon: true and false memories in forensic contexts Flashcards
How are memories constructed and reconstructed?
-> Memory is not like a video camera; it’s a constructive and reconstructive process
-> People store fragments and later fill in the gaps using, schemas, information from others, inferences made after the event
-> Gist of memory may be reliable, but specific details (verbatim) fade or get distorted
-> Memory can change over time, especially during retrieval when people try to make the memory fit a coherent narrative
How do memories from traumatic events behave?
-> Emotional/traumatic events can result in stronger memory for central details
-> These memories still undergo construction and reconstruction so they are not immune to distortion
How does misinformation affect memories?
-> Suggestive questions, imagination, and social pressure can lead to false memories
-> Rich false memories: highly detailed false autobiographical memories that occur under suggestive techniques
-> Easier to distort an image than ti plant a new one
How does post-event information effect memory distortions and false memories?
-> Post-event details can become part of a memory, especially if the original memory is weak or distant and it fits into the witness’s thinking
-> Misinformation may come from co-witnesses (can contaminate memory), investigators (method and wording during questioning), media (visuals), or court proceedings
-> Memory conformity: when witnesses discuss events they tend to become closer over time, especially when they know each other
How does retention interval effect memory distortions and false memories?
-> Longer time gaps between the event and recall increase forgetting and susceptibility to distortion
-> Older memories are less vivid and detailed, making it easier to accept suggested false information
-> Depends on age at event, if it was a repeated or a single event
How does imagination/visualisation effect memory distortions and false memories?
-> Imagining or visualising events can lead to imagination inflation, increasing belief in false events
-> Repeated imagination can create vivid, detailed, and emotionally rich false memories
-> These false memories can form from personal thoughts or during interviews and social conversations
How does event plausibility effect memory distortions and false memories?
-> False memories are more likely to form when the suggested event is plausible and schema-consistent
-> It is dependant on prior knowledge and schemas
-> Familiarity with event types or prior knowledge increases memory implant likelihood
How does inconsistency within and across interviews effect memory distortions and false memories?
-> Witnesses often give inconsistent accounts, but this doesn’t always indicate inaccuracy or deceit
3 different types
-> Contradictions: least reliable
-> Reminiscence: new details added later
-> Omissions: details forgotten or left out
-> Central details of emotional events are more consistently remembered than peripheral ones
How do source memory errors effect memories?
-> Occur when people misattribute the source of a memory (e.g., real experience vs. imagination or suggestion)
-> Visual or conceptual similarity between imagined and real items can increase source confusion
What are gist and verbatim memory traces and how do they effect false memories?
Based on fuzzy trace theory: people store memory traces
-> verbatim traces: exact, detailed memories (fade quickly)
-> gist traces: general meanings or interpretations (last longer)
-> False memories are more likely when verbatim traces fade and gist dominates.
How do individual differences play a role in fasle memories?
Everyone is susceptible to false memories, but some more than others
-> Developmental factors (e.g., children, older adults),
-> Cognitive traits (e.g., low intelligence, poor perceptual skills),
-> Personality traits (e.g., high suggestibility),
-> Psychopathology (e.g., dissociative identity disorder).
What protocols can be used to promote quality memory reports?
2 main: Cognitive Interview (CI) & NICHD Protocol
-> they both emphasise rapport-building, transfer of control to the witness and open-ended questions
-> Use techniques like context reinstatement, reverse order recall, and visualisation
Self administered interview (SAI)
-> uses the core principles of CI
-> it is a booklet for witnesses to recall their experience right after the event
What protocols can be used to discriminate between true and false memories?
Criteria based content analysis (CBCA) and reality monitoring (RM)
-> CBCA better for detecting deliberate lies or partial false memories, less so for rich false memories: looks at quantity of details, contextual embedding
-> RM helps identify real vs imagined memories based on internal characteristics: looks at vividness, sensory details
i-i-eye method: helps to assess the reliability of witness reports by evaluating interview and memory factors
