Accuracy of the Eye-witness Testimony Flashcards

1
Q

What 2 factors affect the accuracy of the Eye-Witness Testimony?

A

Misleading information
Anxiety

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2
Q

What is the Eye-Witness Testimony (EWT)?

A

The ability of people to remember the details of events that they themselves have observed

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3
Q

What are the 2 types of misleading information?

A

Leading questions
Post-event discussion

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4
Q

What is the main study into leading questions?

A

Loftus & Palmer (1974)

45 students shown a video of a car accident

Participants asked how fast car was going when they hit each other - verb hit replaced

Contacted = mean estimate of 32mph
Smashed - mean estimate of 40.5mph

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5
Q

What are the 2 reasons why leading questions affect EWT?

A

Response bias explanation

Substitution explanation

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6
Q

What is the response bias explanation?

A

Suggests the wording has no real affect on memory but affects how the participants answer

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7
Q

What is the substitution explanation?

A

The wording alters the participant’s memory

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8
Q

How is the substitution explanation supported?

A

Loftus & Palmer (1974) - broken glass - “smashed” & “hit”
Loftus & Zanni (1975) - broken headlight - “a” or “the”

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9
Q

What did Loftus and Palmer find which supports the substitution explanation?

A

Participants who heard smashed were more likely to report that they saw broken glass as suppose the the verb “hit” (no broken glass)

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10
Q

What did Loftus & Zanni do (1975)?

A

7% participants said they saw “a” broken headlight

17% participants said they saw “the” broken headlight

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11
Q

How does post-event discussion affect the accuracy of EWT?

A

Memory contamination

Memory conformity

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12
Q

What is memory contamination?

A

When discussion causes the memories to be altered with information that may not be true

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13
Q

What is memory conformity?

A

When witnesses go along with each other’s points as they want social approval but their memory remains the same

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14
Q

What did Gabbert et al (2003) find about post-event discussion?

A

Participants tested individually or in pairs
The pairs were told they watched the same video when it was different perspectives
71% of participants that were in pairs recalled information they didn’t see (as suppose to 0%)

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15
Q

What are the strengths of misleading information?

A

Good control of variables in lab studies (EV removed)

Studies can be replicated to test reliability (IV affects DV)

Important applications to real life (cognitive interview)

Shows that co-witnesses should be prevent from discussing the event - Gabbert

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16
Q

How was there good control of variables in the lab studies for misleading information?

A

Extraneous variables such as weather were removed

17
Q

How can the lab studies for misleading information be replicated to test reliability?

A

Loftus & Palmer + Loftus & Zanni’s experiments were carried out under the exact same procedures - can conclude the iv itself affect the dv

18
Q

How does misleading information have important application to real life?

A

Police are careful with how they word questions when interviewing witnesses to avoid substitution

19
Q

How does misleading information research show that co-witnesses should be prevented from discussing the event?

A

Gabbert’s study shows that people change their answers when speaking about their testimony with another witness

20
Q

What did Bodner et al (2009) find?

A

Can reduce effects of post-event discussion if participants are warned of impact

21
Q

What are the weaknesses of misleading information?

A

Lab studies lack ecological validity

Yuille & Cutshall (1986) - counter research

Lack of population validity

22
Q

How did the lab studies supporting misleading information lack ecological validity?

A

Watching video isn’t actually experiencing it
Staged event doesn’t cause anxiety - can affect accuracy
EWT has real consequences in real life
Demand characteristics

23
Q

What did Yuille & Cutshall do?

A

Performed ecologically valid experiment where they interviewed 13 witnesses of a real crime

Participants asked leading questions which had no effect on recall accuracy

24
Q

How do the lab studies supporting misleading information lack population validity?

A

Many of the experiments which Loftus did involved students which is not a representative sample so we cannot generalise the findings

25
What did Yerkes & Dodson suggest about anxiety’s affect on EWT?
The relationship is an inverted u, performance will increase with stress only up to a certain point
26
What did Loftus & Burns (1982) find about anxiety?
Participants allocated to 1 of 2 conditions Watch violent film - boy shot in head Watch non-violent film of a crime Participants less accurate in the violent short film than the participants who watched the other film HIGH ANXIETY CAUSES LOW RECALL ACCURACY
27
What is the weapon focus effect?
The anxiety levels of observers increase when a weapon is pulled out, also causing them to fixate on the weapon
28
What did Johnson & Scott (1976) find about the weapon focus effect?
Participants sat outside a lab and heard 1 of 2 conditions 1. Friendly convo with man carrying pen with grease on his hands 2. Argument, smashing glass, overturned furniture and a man emerging with blood-stained paper knife Witnesses had to identify the man from 50 photos 49% accurate identifying man with the pen 33% accurate identifying the man with the knife
29
What did Stelbay (1992) find about the weapon focus effect?
Performed meta-analysis and found a variety of cases which included the presence of a weapon that signifies reduced the accuracy of identifying the person holding it
30
What 2 studies show positive examples of high anxiety?
Christianson & Hubinette (1993) - bank robbery Yuille & Cutshall (1986) - armed robbery in Canada
31
What did Christianson & Hubinette’s (1993) study find?
Question 58 real witnesses to a bank robbery Participants were either victims or bystanders The victims (more anxious) had better and more accurate recall
32
What did Yuille & Cutshall (1986) find?
Witnesses who had been the most anxious during an armed robbery gave the most accurate account
33
What are the weaknesses of anxiety as a factor affecting EWT?
Weapon-focus effect may not be caused by anxiety - Pickel (1998) Field studies sometimes lack control Ethical issues Yerkes Dodson Law too simplistic Individual differences
34
How might the weapon focus effect not be caused by anxiety?
Pickel (1998) Suggested low accuracy may be due to surprise rather than accuracy He had 4 conditions which had high/low elements of surprise and threat The conditions with higher surprise caused identification to be less accurate than the high threat conditions
35
How might field studies lack control (anxiety)?
Extraneous variables may have affected the results People with higher anxiety may have been closer which is why they may have been more accurate than the
36
How are there ethical issues during the studies on anxiety?
Creating anxiety in people is unethical itself In Johnson & Scott’s study, the participants may have been psychologically harmed when witnessing the bloodied knife and there was deception
37
How is the Yerkes Dodson Law too simplistic?
Anxiety is difficult to define and measure accurately Anxiety can be due to worry and everyday stresses
38
How do individual differences affect anxiety?
A person’s personality may affect their recall rather than anxiety Bothwell et al (1987) Neurotic individuals less accurate with higher stress than stable individuals