2.4: Eyewitness testimony (EWT)

Question 1

Eyewitness testimony (EWT)

Answer 1

Eyewitness testimony (EWT) is evidence provided by those recalling an event who were present when the event took place

Question 2

Schema

Answer 2

Schema is a readiness to interpret sensory information in a pre-set manner

Question 3

The guilt or innocence of people being tried in courts of law often depends upon what?

Answer 3

The:
1. Guilt
Or,
2. Innocence
of people being tried in courts of law often depends upon the accuracy of the memories of eyewitnesses

Question 4

The guilt or innocence of people being tried in courts of law often depends upon the accuracy of the memories of eyewitnesses.
Jurors often find that eyewitness testimony (EWT) is vitally important in making their decision and yet in what % of cases where individuals have been found by DNA evidence to have been wrongly convicted, the original guilty verdict was based on what?

Answer 4

1. Jurors often find that eyewitness testimony (EWT) is vitally important in making their decision
2. Yet in 75% of cases where individuals have been found by DNA evidence to have been wrongly convicted, the original guilty verdict was based on inaccurate EWT

Question 5

The guilt or innocence of people being tried in courts of law often depends upon the accuracy of the memories of eyewitnesses.
Jurors often find that eyewitness testimony (EWT) is vitally important in making their decision and yet in 75% of cases where individuals have been found by DNA evidence to have been wrongly convicted, the original guilty verdict was based on inaccurate EWT.
Research into EWT is therefore vital, because it helps further what?

Answer 5

Research into EWT is therefore vital, because it helps further understanding of how memory works

Question 6

The guilt or innocence of people being tried in courts of law often depends upon the accuracy of the memories of eyewitnesses.
Jurors often find that eyewitness testimony (EWT) is vitally important in making their decision and yet in 75% of cases where individuals have been found by DNA evidence to have been wrongly convicted, the original guilty verdict was based on inaccurate EWT.
Research into EWT is therefore vital, because it helps further understanding of how memory works, especially as to what?

Answer 6

Research into EWT is therefore vital, because it helps further understanding of how memory works, especially as to how inaccurate memories can be created

Question 7

The guilt or innocence of people being tried in courts of law often depends upon the accuracy of the memories of eyewitnesses.
Jurors often find that eyewitness testimony (EWT) is vitally important in making their decision and yet in 75% of cases where individuals have been found by DNA evidence to have been wrongly convicted, the original guilty verdict was based on inaccurate EWT.
Research into EWT is therefore vital, because it helps further understanding of how memory works, especially as to how inaccurate memories can be created, which then helps form what?

Answer 7

Research into EWT is therefore vital, because it helps further understanding of how memory works, especially as to how inaccurate memories can be created, which then helps form practical applications as to how:

1. Court cases should be conducted
2. Witness statements should be gathered

Question 8

The guilt or innocence of people being tried in courts of law often depends upon the accuracy of the memories of eyewitnesses.
Jurors often find that eyewitness testimony (EWT) is vitally important in making their decision and yet in 75% of cases where individuals have been found by DNA evidence to have been wrongly convicted, the original guilty verdict was based on inaccurate EWT.
Research into EWT is therefore vital, because it helps further understanding of how memory works, especially as to how inaccurate memories can be created, which then helps form practical applications as to how court cases should be conducted and how witness statements should be gathered.
Example

Answer 8

For example, courts cannot convict an accused person on the basis of one uncorroborated eyewitness statement

Question 9

Who (what year) stated that memories aren’t what?

Answer 9

Bartlett (1932) stated that memories aren’t accurate ‘snapshots’ of events

Question 10

Bartlett (1932) stated that memories aren’t accurate ‘snapshots’ of events, but are what?

Answer 10

Bartlett (1932) stated that memories aren’t accurate ‘snapshots’ of events, but are ‘reconstructions’ of events

Question 11

Bartlett (1932) stated that memories aren’t accurate ‘snapshots’ of events, but are ‘reconstructions’ of events, influenced by what?

Answer 11

Bartlett (1932) stated that memories aren’t accurate ‘snapshots’ of events, but are ‘reconstructions’ of events, influenced by active schemas

Question 12

Bartlett (1932) stated that memories aren’t accurate ‘snapshots’ of events, but are ‘reconstructions’ of events, influenced by active schemas, ready-made expectations based on what, for example?

Answer 12

Bartlett (1932) stated that memories aren't accurate 'snapshots' of events, but are 'reconstructions' of events, influenced by active schemas, ready-made expectations based on:
1. Previous experiences
2. Moods
3. Existing knowledge
,for example

Question 13

Bartlett (1932) stated that memories aren’t accurate ‘snapshots’ of events, but are ‘reconstructions’ of events, influenced by active schemas, ready-made expectations based on previous experiences, moods and existing knowledge, for example.
Schemas are used to make sense of what?

Answer 13

Schemas are used to make sense of the world

Question 14

Bartlett (1932) stated that memories aren’t accurate ‘snapshots’ of events, but are ‘reconstructions’ of events, influenced by active schemas, ready-made expectations based on previous experiences, moods and existing knowledge, for example.
Schemas are used to make sense of the world, by doing what?

Answer 14

Schemas are used to make sense of the world, by:

1. ‘Filling in the gaps’ in our knowledge
2. Simplifying the processing of information

Question 15

Bartlett (1932) stated that memories aren’t accurate ‘snapshots’ of events, but are ‘reconstructions’ of events, influenced by active schemas, ready-made expectations based on previous experiences, moods and existing knowledge, for example.
Schemas are used to make sense of the world, by ‘filling in the gaps’ in our knowledge and by simplifying the processing of information.
What does this affect?

Answer 15

This affects the reliability of EWT

Question 16

Bartlett (1932) stated that memories aren’t accurate ‘snapshots’ of events, but are ‘reconstructions’ of events, influenced by active schemas, ready-made expectations based on previous experiences, moods and existing knowledge, for example.
Schemas are used to make sense of the world, by ‘filling in the gaps’ in our knowledge and by simplifying the processing of information.
This affects the reliability of EWT, because witnesses aren’t merely what?

Answer 16

This affects the reliability of EWT, because witnesses aren’t merely recalling facts as they happened

Question 17

Bartlett (1932) stated that memories aren’t accurate ‘snapshots’ of events, but are ‘reconstructions’ of events, influenced by active schemas, ready-made expectations based on previous experiences, moods and existing knowledge, for example.
Schemas are used to make sense of the world, by ‘filling in the gaps’ in our knowledge and by simplifying the processing of information.
This affects the reliability of EWT, because witnesses aren’t merely recalling facts as they happened.
Instead, witnesses are doing what?

Answer 17

Instead, witnesses are reconstructing memories that are biased by schemas active at the time of recall

Question 18

Bartlett (1932) stated that memories aren’t accurate ‘snapshots’ of events, but are ‘reconstructions’ of events, influenced by active schemas, ready-made expectations based on previous experiences, moods and existing knowledge, for example.
Schemas are used to make sense of the world, by ‘filling in the gaps’ in our knowledge and by simplifying the processing of information.
This affects the reliability of EWT, because witnesses aren’t merely recalling facts as they happened.
Instead, witnesses are reconstructing memories that are biased by schemas active at the time of recall, which can lead to what?

Answer 18

Instead, witnesses are reconstructing memories that are biased by schemas active at the time of recall, which can lead to false memories

Question 19

Research:

Who (what year) found that when Western cultural participants were told what?

Answer 19

Bartlett (1932) found that when Western cultural participants were told a Navajo Indian story

Question 20

Research:

Bartlett (1932) found that when Western cultural participants were told a Navajo Indian story, called what?

Answer 20

Bartlett (1932) found that when Western cultural participants were told a Navajo Indian story, called ‘The War of the Ghosts’

Question 21

Research:
Bartlett (1932) found that when Western cultural participants were told a Navajo Indian story, called ‘The War of the Ghosts,’ that didn’t make sense from what?

Answer 21

Bartlett (1932) found that when Western cultural participants were told a Navajo Indian story, called ‘The War of the Ghosts,’ that didn’t make sense from their cultural viewpoint

Question 22

Research:
Bartlett (1932) found that when Western cultural participants were told a Navajo Indian story, called ‘The War of the Ghosts,’ that didn’t make sense from their cultural viewpoint, their memory of the story became what?

Answer 22

Bartlett (1932) found that when Western cultural participants were told a Navajo Indian story, called ‘The War of the Ghosts,’ that didn’t make sense from their cultural viewpoint, their memory of the story became distorted

Question 23

Research:
Bartlett (1932) found that when Western cultural participants were told a Navajo Indian story, called ‘The War of the Ghosts,’ that didn’t make sense from their cultural viewpoint, their memory of the story became distorted, with details of the story being what?

Answer 23

Bartlett (1932) found that when Western cultural participants were told a Navajo Indian story, called ‘The War of the Ghosts,’ that didn’t make sense from their cultural viewpoint, their memory of the story became distorted, with details of the story being changed to fit a Western cultural viewpoint

Question 24

Research:
Bartlett (1932) found that when Western cultural participants were told a Navajo Indian story, called ‘The War of the Ghosts,’ that didn’t make sense from their cultural viewpoint, their memory of the story became distorted, with details of the story being changed to fit a Western cultural viewpoint.
What does this illustrate?

Answer 24

This illustrates how memory can be affected by cultural schemas

Question 25

Research:
Bartlett (1932) found that when Western cultural participants were told a Navajo Indian story, called ‘The War of the Ghosts,’ that didn’t make sense from their cultural viewpoint, their memory of the story became distorted, with details of the story being changed to fit a Western cultural viewpoint.
This illustrates how memory can be affected by cultural schemas, what?

Answer 25

This illustrates how memory can be affected by cultural schemas, perceptions of what happened from a particular cultural viewpoint

Question 26

The what illusion?

Answer 26

The Monkey Business illusion

Question 27

The Monkey Business illusion.

When you’re doing what, it is likely and easy to do what?

Answer 27

When you’re:
1. Concentrating
2. Focusing
on one thing/task at a time, it is very likely and easy to miss other important things/events occurring

Question 28

The Monkey Business illusion.
When you’re concentrating and focusing on one thing/task at a time, it is very likely and easy to miss other important things/events occurring.
What does this tell us?

Answer 28

This tells us that eye-witness testimony (EWT) is not very accurate