Chapter 2 Memory - Factors affecting eyewitness testimony

Question 1

Misleading information - Leading questions?

Answer 1

Speed estimates affected by leading question e.g. smashed, contacted (Loftus & Palmer).

Question 2

Misleading information - Why do leading questions affect EWT?

Answer 2

Response bias - no change to memory.
Substitution bias - change to memory, supported by report of seeing broken glass more when heard ‘smashed’.

Question 3

Misleading information - Post-event discussion?

Answer 3

Co-witness discussion affects memories of event (Gabbert et al.)

Question 4

Misleading information - Why does PED affect EWT?

Answer 4

Memory contamination - mix (mis)information from others.
Memory conformity - responses given for social approval.

Question 5

Evaluations of misleading information affecting EWT? SLLX

Answer 5

S - Real-world application
L - Evidence against substitution
L - Evidence challenging memory conformity
X - Demand characteristics

Question 6

Evaluation of misleading information affect EWT - Real-world application? S

Answer 6

• Insights applied to police interviewing & expert witnesses.
• CP is that film clips in lab are less stressful than everyday life, no consequences. EWT more reliable in real-life.

Question 7

Evaluation of misleading information affect EWT - Evidence against substitution? L

Answer 7

Central details by eyewitnesses not much affected by misleading information (Sutherland & Hayne).

Question 8

Evaluation of misleading information affect EWT - Evidence challenging memory conformity? L

Answer 8

Post-event information on hair colour blended, supporting contamination (Skagerberg & Wright).

Question 9

Evaluation of misleading information affect EWT - Demand characteristics? X

Answer 9

Lab environment enables control but answers in lab studies influenced by desire to be helpful (demand characteristics).

Question 10

Anxiety has a negative effect on recall?

Answer 10

• Johnson & Scott (weapon focus) - high-anxiety knife condition let to poorer recall.
• Tunnel theory of memory.

Question 11

Anxiety has a positive effect on recall?

Answer 11

Yuille & Cutshall (shooting in gun shop) - high anxiety associated with better recall when witnessing real crime.

Question 12

Explaining the contradictory findings?

Answer 12

Deffenbacher reviewed 21 studies, Yerkes-Dodson inverted-U theory suggests both low & high anxiety leads to poor recall.

Question 13

Evaluations of anxiety effecting EWT? LSSX

Answer 13

L - Unusualness not anxiety
S - Support for negative effects
S - Support for positive effects
X - Problems with inverted-U theory

Question 14

Evaluation of anxiety effecting EWT - Unusualness not anxiety? L

Answer 14

Poor recall due to unusualness (chicken & handgun), not anxiety (Pickel).

Question 15

Evaluation of anxiety effecting EWT - Support for negative effects? S

Answer 15

London Dungeon - anxiety reduced accurate recall of an individual (Valentine & Mesout).

Question 16

Evaluation of anxiety effecting EWT - Support for positive effects? S

Answer 16

• The most anxious eyewitnesses at bank robbery had the most accurate recall (Christianson & Hubinette).
• CP is that interviews were long after event, lacks control of confounding variables.

Question 17

Evaluation of anxiety effecting EWT - Problems with inverted-U theory? X

Answer 17

Explains contradictory findings but focuses just on physical arousal, ignores cognitive (way we think about stressful situation) aspects of anxiety.