1.4.5 Cognitive Debate - Reliability Of EWT Flashcards
Why do juries give a lot of weight to EWT?
It can be very powerful due to the conviction the witnesses have
What did the innocence project state about EWT and convictions?
EWT is the number one cause of wrongful convictions
Why are wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice issues?
Innocent people can go to prison for many years or even be executed
Criminals are then left roaming the streets
The decline committee found out what percentage of convictions were based entirely on EWT?
74% out of 347 cases
Radin found false conviction rate in the US based on EWT was what percentage?
5%
So 5% of prisoners innocent is equal to:
1 in 20 prisoners
What things can affect how we remember events?
Pre existing bias
stereotypes
Leading questions
Our memories are reconstructed and combined with various sources, what does this mean?
What we think we remember may not be entirely accurate
What did Nolan and markham (1998) find about juries and EWT?
They may be swayed by EWT particularly if the eyewitness seems confident
Why are people very bad at remembering details in crime situations?
They avert their gaze
Attention focuses elsewhere - weapon focus
Running away
RM - what are schemas?
Packets of information about the world around us that we store in our long term memory they are not necessarily reliable
(Schemas) Bartlett argued that memory was reconstructed what did he mean? RM
Not a complete reproduction of a witnessed event rather a combining of information
(Schemas)If memory is reconstructed as Bartlett says, is it accurate? RM
No
(Schemas) What did Bartlett argue played a major role in remembering events? RM
Interpretation
(Schemas) Bartlett said remembering can be seen as an “effort after meaning” what did he mean? RM
We try to make the past more logical, coherent and sensible
(Schemas) What did Bartlett say schematta helps us to do? RM
Make sense of the world, making it more predictable
(Schemas) In reconstructing memory what do schemas often do? RM
Fill the gaps in our memory, producing significant distortions
(Schemas) What may pre existing schemas do in relation to EWT? RM
Alter the way a person remembers a crime
They forget things that don’t fit with their schemas
(Schemas) What did Allport and Postman’s study involve? RM
Showing white participants an image of a smart black business man being threatened by a white man
(Schemas) What did Allport and postman find in their study? RM
Participants later recalled the image as the white man being threatened by the black man
How could you explain Allport and Postmans findings in relation to schemas? RM
At the time it was a racist society, people would have schemas such as black men being linked to crime, and black men not being successful businessmen
(Schemas) Tuckey and brewer investigated stereotyped recall of a bank robbery, what did they find? RM
When participants were questioned on there recall of a bank robbery video they remembered more details that for with the stereotype of a bank robber
(Schemas) What do tuckey and Brewers findings support in relation to schemas? RM
The theory that we are better at remembering things that fit with our schemas
(Schemas) What did tuckey and brewer also find in relation to countersterotype information? RM
Participants were also good at remembering things that did not fit with their existing schemas e.g the robbers didn’t have guns
(Leading questions) What did loftus and palmers research into leading questions show? RM
Leading questions have the ability to alter a persons memory of an event
(Leading questions) What did loftus and palmers leading question research show?RM
Leading questions have the ability to alter a persons memory of an event
(Leading questions) What is a criticism of loftus and Palmer using speed estimates in their research? RM
Judging speed is complex therefore participants may be more prone to being led
(Leading questions) What were participants asked in loftus and Zanni’s a/the research? RM
If they had seen a/ the broken headlight