EWT: Misleading information Flashcards
What is eyewitness testimony?
The ability of people to remember details of events (accidents, crimes), which they themselves have observed
What is misleading information?
Incorrect information given to an eyewitness usually after the event
What is a leading question?
A question that suggests a certain answer, due to the way it has been phrased
What is post-event discussion?
Occurs when an event has multiple witnesses. Witnesses may discuss what they have seen
Who researched leading questions?
Loftus and Palmer
What did Loftus and Palmer do?
- Arranged 45 participants to watch film clips of car accidents and asked them questions about the accident
- In the leading question, participants were asked to describe how fast cars were travelling
- There were 5 groups, each group was asked the question, using a different critical verb (hit, contacted, bumped, collided, smashed)
What did Loftus and Palmer find and conclude?
- Mean estimated speed for ‘contacted’= 31.8 mph
- ‘Smashed’= 40.5 mph
- Leading question biased the eyewitnesses’ recall
Why do leading questions affect EWT?
- Wording has no real effect on memory, but influences how participants answer
- Substitution explanation: proposes wording does change memory. Participants who heard ‘smashed’ were more likely to report seeing broken glass
Who researched post-event discussion?
Gabbert et al
What did Gabbert et al do?
- Participants studies in pairs
- Each participant watched a video of the same crime, but from a different perspective
- Both participants then discussed what they had seen, before completing an individual test recall
What did Gabbert et al find and conclude?
- 71% of participants mistakenly recalled aspects of the event they did not see, but picked up within discussion
- Corresponding figure in control group (no discussion)= 0%
- Evidence of memory conformity
Why does post-event discussion affect EWT?
- Memory contamination: when discussing an event, memories become distorted, and co-witnesses’ memories become combined
- Memory conformity: witnesses go along with each other, to win social approval, or because they believe the other witnesses are right. Actual memory is unchanged
What are the strengths of misleading information?
- Real-world application
What are the limitations of misleading information?
- Research issues
- Evidence against substitution
- Evidence challenging memory conformity
- Demand characteristics
STRENGTH- Real-world application
I= important practical uses in criminal justice system
D= Loftus believes leading questions can have a distorting effect on memory, so officers need to take care when asking questions. Psychologists sometimes asked to act as expert witnesses in court trials, and explain limits of EWT
E= shows psychologists can help improve the way the legal system works (protect innocent people)
LIMITATION- Research issues
I= practical applications of EWT may be affected by issues of research
D= Loftus and Palmer’s participants watched clips in a lab (less stressful than a real event). **Foster et al **argues eyewitness responses are important in the real-world, unlike research participant’s responses (less motivated to be accurate)
E= suggests researchers are too pessimistic about effects of misleading information
LIMITATION- Evidence against substitution
I= EWT is more accurate for some aspects of an event than others
D= Sutherland and Hayne showed participants a video clip. When asked leading questions, recall was more accurate for central details, rather than peripheral ones. Attention focused on central events
E= suggests OG memories for central details survived and were not distorted
LIMITATION- Evidence challenging memory conformity
I= evidence shows that post-event discussion alters EWT
D= Skagerberg and Wright shows participants clips (different versions). Mugger’s hair= in 1 was light brown, dark brown in 2. Discuss in pairs. Reported a blend of information
E= suggests memory is distorted through contamination by misleading post-event discussion, rather than a result of memory conformity
LIMITATION- Demand characteristics
I= demand characteristics play a part in participant’s answers
D= Zaragoza and McCloskey say participants want to be helpful, so guess the answer to question, hoping to not let the researcher down
E= reduces the validity of research support
