1.4.5 Cognitive Debate - Reliability Of EWT Flashcards

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1
Q

Why do juries give a lot of weight to EWT?

A

It can be very powerful due to the conviction the witnesses have

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2
Q

What did the innocence project state about EWT and convictions?

A

EWT is the number one cause of wrongful convictions

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3
Q

Why are wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice issues?

A

Innocent people can go to prison for many years or even be executed Criminals are then left roaming the streets

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4
Q

The decline committee found out what percentage of convictions were based entirely on EWT?

A

74% out of 347 cases

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5
Q

Radin found false conviction rate in the US based on EWT was what percentage?

A

5%

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6
Q

So 5% of prisoners innocent is equal to:

A

1 in 20 prisoners

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7
Q

What things can affect how we remember events?

A

Pre existing bias stereotypes Leading questions

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8
Q

Our memories are reconstructed and combined with various sources, what does this mean?

A

What we think we remember may not be entirely accurate

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9
Q

What did Nolan and markham (1998) find about juries and EWT?

A

They may be swayed by EWT particularly if the eyewitness seems confident

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10
Q

Why are people very bad at remembering details in crime situations?

A

They avert their gaze Attention focuses elsewhere - weapon focus Running away

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11
Q

RM - what are schemas?

A

Packets of information about the world around us that we store in our long term memory they are not necessarily reliable

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12
Q

(Schemas) Bartlett argued that memory was reconstructed what did he mean? RM

A

Not a complete reproduction of a witnessed event rather a combining of information

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13
Q

(Schemas)If memory is reconstructed as Bartlett says, is it accurate? RM

A

No

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14
Q

(Schemas) What did Bartlett argue played a major role in remembering events? RM

A

Interpretation

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15
Q

(Schemas) Bartlett said remembering can be seen as an “effort after meaning” what did he mean? RM

A

We try to make the past more logical, coherent and sensible

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16
Q

(Schemas) What did Bartlett say schematta helps us to do? RM

A

Make sense of the world, making it more predictable

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17
Q

(Schemas) In reconstructing memory what do schemas often do? RM

A

Fill the gaps in our memory, producing significant distortions

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18
Q

(Schemas) What may pre existing schemas do in relation to EWT? RM

A

Alter the way a person remembers a crime They forget things that don’t fit with their schemas

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19
Q

(Schemas) What did Allport and Postman’s study involve? RM

A

Showing white participants an image of a smart black business man being threatened by a white man

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20
Q

(Schemas) What did Allport and postman find in their study? RM

A

Participants later recalled the image as the white man being threatened by the black man

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21
Q

How could you explain Allport and Postmans findings in relation to schemas? RM

A

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

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22
Q

(Schemas) Tuckey and brewer investigated stereotyped recall of a bank robbery, what did they find? RM

A

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

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23
Q

(Schemas) What do tuckey and Brewers findings support in relation to schemas? RM

A

The theory that we are better at remembering things that fit with our schemas

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24
Q

(Schemas) What did tuckey and brewer also find in relation to countersterotype information? RM

A

Participants were also good at remembering things that did not fit with their existing schemas e.g the robbers didn’t have guns

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25
Q

(Leading questions) What did loftus and palmers research into leading questions show? RM

A

Leading questions have the ability to alter a persons memory of an event

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26
Q

(Leading questions) What did loftus and palmers leading question research show?RM

A

Leading questions have the ability to alter a persons memory of an event

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27
Q

(Leading questions) What is a criticism of loftus and Palmer using speed estimates in their research? RM

A

Judging speed is complex therefore participants may be more prone to being led

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28
Q

(Leading questions) What were participants asked in loftus and Zanni’s a/the research? RM

A

If they had seen a/ the broken headlight

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29
Q

(Leading questions) What were the results of loftus and Zanni’s a/the research? RM

A

7% of a reported seeing one compared to 17% of the

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30
Q

(Leading questions) What did loftus and Zanni’s research demonstrate about leading questions? RM

A

They can cause a participant to remember something that wasn’t actually there

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31
Q

(Leading questions) What did loftus’ red purse study involve? RM

A

Showing participants a series of images of a man stealing a ref purse from a woman’s bag

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32
Q

(Leading questions) What question did loftus then ask in his red purse study? RM

A

If they had seen a brown purse being stolen

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33
Q

(Leading questions) What percentage of participants correctly recalled the purse was red? RM

A

98%

34
Q

(Leading questions) What does loftus’ red purse study imply about leading questions?

A

Leading questions do not affect memory

35
Q

(Leading questions) A lot of research into reconstructive memory used lab experiments, what is good about this? And what is bad?

A

Control, repeated, consistent, cause and effect Lack of ecological validity

36
Q

(Leading questions) research has led to the development of what?

A

Cognitive interview - increase accuracy of EWT Witnesses recreate the incident, recall it in different orders and from different perspectives

37
Q

(Leading questions) Yuille and cutshall found those closer to the crime where what?

A

More accurate in EWT - less likely to be swayed by leading questions

38
Q

(Emotion) crimes where the witness is under a lot of stress lead to what?

A

Poorer recall

39
Q

(Emotion) deffenbacher conducted a meta analysis on eyewitness recall finding high stress had a negative impact on what?

A

Accuracy

40
Q

(Emotion) Christianson - witnesses to real bank robberies had what?

A

Better recall than onlookers not involved

41
Q

(Emotion) flashbulb memories - what do they describe?

A

Vivid, long lasting memories occurring at times of heightened emotion As if mind has taken picture

42
Q

(Emotion) give examples of common flashbulb memories:

A

9/11 Princess Diana’s death

43
Q

(Emotion) flashbulb memories are highly detailed and supposedly immune to what?

A

Decay

44
Q

(Emotion) talarico and Rubin - had 54 students to recall their memory of what?

A

The 9/11 attacks the day after the event

45
Q

(Emotion) talarico and Rubin also asked about what? And when we’re that tested?

A

Birthday party 1,6 and 32 weeks later

46
Q

(Emotion) talarico and Rubin - consistency if flashbulb and everyday memories did not do what?

A

Differ both memories declined overtime

47
Q

(Emotion) talarico and Rubin - participants thought their recall of 9/11 was much more what?

A

Vivid they thought themselves it was more accurate

48
Q

(Emotion) eyewitnesses may be asked to give evidence when and what is an issue of this?

A

Months after an event Think emotional memories are more accurate they are and their confidence may be a deciding factor for juries

49
Q

(Emotion) odiniot - 14 witnesses of an armed robbery and checked recall against CCTV, what was found?

A

84% of recalled info correct Witnesses reporting high levels of emotional impact had more accurate recall

50
Q

(Emotion) real events are high in what?

A

Ecological validity - show persons actual emotions in the situation

51
Q

(Emotion) real life situations raise what issues?

A

Lack of control Ethics of recalling a highly emotive potentially traumatic experience

52
Q

(Emotion) what is the yerkes Dodson curve?

A

Relationship between emotional arousal and level of performance Too much emotion can affect memory Too little not paying attention

53
Q

(Emotion) Macleod - real life EWT of 379 assaults vs crimes with no physical injury there was no what and what did this suggest?

A

No difference inaccuracy of recall Suggests levels of emotions do not make a difference into recall

54
Q

(Age) the younger the child the less what? And why is this an issue?

A

Less info they provide to researcher Interviewers need to encourage children to be detailed and specific Which can lead to inaccurate statement

55
Q

(Age) young children are more likely to change their answer when the question is repeated why?

A

Assume they got the answer wrong the first time

56
Q

(Age) social factors such as the child seeing the interviewer as an authority figure makes them more susceptible to what?

A

Leading questions

57
Q

(Age) suggestibility - Goodman children are more likely to give the what?

A

Answer implied by the question than an adult would

58
Q

(Age) suggestibility - Ceci in children aged 3 to 12 what age were most susceptible to having memories altered and why?

A

4 Their memories are weaker and fade faster than older children

59
Q

(Age) suggestibility - gross and Hayne - children as young as 5 could identify who?

A

Unknown person they interacted with briefly for two days

60
Q

(Age) suggestibility - gross and Hayne - when the target person was absent from the Line up children did what?

A

Performed poorly and selected wrong person In their eagerness to please the interviewer they thought they should identify a picture

61
Q

(Age) suggestibility - if encouraged to think really hard a child may do what?

A

Remember events that never happened

62
Q

(Age) suggestibility - peer pressure can influence what?

A

What children report

63
Q

(Age) language - the more complex a Question the more likely a child would give what?

A

Inaccurate answer

64
Q

(Age) language - Davies - children are fairly accurate in their memories they don not usually do what?

A

Make things up Don’t deliberately lie Memory is not altered by adult suggestion after event

65
Q

(Age) language - all age groups are most accurate when what?

A

Recognising offender form own age group

66
Q

(Age) elderly - cohen - young adults and the elderly were shown a silent film of what?

A

Kidnapping

67
Q

(Age) elderly - participants were then given a summary of the crime to read one accurate one inaccurate all participants were asked to do what and what was found?

A

Recall Elderly were much more likely to include some incorrect material in their account of crime

68
Q

(Age) elderly - coxon - video of crime elderly participants were less accurate in their overall recall, poorer recall was attributed to what?

A

Advancing age

69
Q

What is an ethical implication of relaibility EWT in term of psychological harm

A

Potential psychological harm - traumatic memories or miscarriages of justice

70
Q

Give an example of a misscarriage of justice

A

Post event information provided to Jenifer Thompson about her rapist meant that Ronald Cotton was incorrectly identified on a number of occassions and sentenced to life in prison plus 50 years

71
Q

What have frightening stories about incorrect EWT led to

A

Increasing controversy about the death penalty in the USA

72
Q

What did a columbia university find

A

68% of death sentences imposed between 1973 and 1995 were overturned

73
Q

What is a further unethical result of unreliable EWT

A
  • Safeguards in place to ‘protect’ child witnesses and perpetrators from potential harm from the community
74
Q

What are the economic implications of research in this area?

A

Fewer miscarriages of justice - less cost Cheaper and quicker court trials

75
Q

How is the cost of compensation effected by unreliable EWT

A

Compensation for those wrongfully imprisoned creates economic implications for unreliable EWT

76
Q

Give an example of compensation having to be provided

A

Ronald Cotton was allegedly paid $105,000 in compensation for the 11 years he spent in prison

77
Q

How much does it cost per day for a trial in crown court

A

£80,000

78
Q

What are social implications of research?

A

Should ensure juries think carefully about weight givens to EWT - better conviction rates

79
Q

Issue with increasing use of CCTV as a result of unreliable EWT

A

Might infringe on peoples freedoms and creates a ‘big brother’ society

80
Q

Why is the evidence contradictory

A

For every piece of information about the reliability of child eye-witness there is another that claims they are unreliable

81
Q

What is reliability of EWT dependant on

A

The interviewers level of skill and the witnesses personality - is the cognitive interview always useful

82
Q

Evaluate reliability of EWT in terms of realism and validity

A
  • much of the research lacks mundane realism and external validity
  • However it is done in a lab environment which is sterile