EWT-misleading information*

Question 1

Leading questions

Answer 1

Loftus and Palmer - accuracy of memory after witnessing an event to see if leading questions would affect accuracy of immediate recall
• 45 ppts-shown 7 clips of a car accident. Each given a questionnaire with one critical question “ how fast were the cars when they hit? - smash, collide, bump, contacted, hit
• Mean est speed for smashed-40.8. Contacted- 31.8
Is a relationship between verb and estimate of speed .
Leading biased recall

Question 2

Why do leading questions affect eyewitness test?

Answer 2

It doesn’t affect their memory, but the way they answer
Respond bias = Responding same way regardless of context
Substitution = misleading info replaces original memory

Question 3

Post event discussion

Answer 3

• May discuss what they saw with co-witnesses-improves accuracy
• Gabbert studied participants in pairs
• Each watched a video of the same crime but different angles, each saw different elements to each other
• discussed what they had seen then individually took a test
• Findings= 71% mistakenly report aspects they did not see but picked up in discussion
• Witnesses go along with each other, combine own info with others.

Question 4

Misleading info

Answer 4

incorrect info given to witness which can distort what people remember

Question 5

Real life application - CJS

Answer 5

• use in CJS Consequences of an inaccurate EWT is serious so police need to be careful of how they phrase questions
• just asked to be expert witnesses and explain limits of EWT to the jury

Question 6

Counterpoint -lab

Answer 6

• practical applications may be affected by issues with research
• car crash film watched in lab so cannot reproduce stress with real event
• There is consequences in real life

Question 7

Evidence against memory conformity

Answer 7

• post event discussion alters EWT
• Skagerberg and Wright show film clips. Two versions. One dark brown one light brown, discussed pairs and results were blended together
• Suggest memory is distorted through contamination by post event discussion rather than memory conform

Question 8

Evidence against substitution -recall more accurate for details

Answer 8

• more accurate for some aspects of an event
• Sutherland and Hayne show clips and people asked misleading questions. Recall more accurate for details
• Participants were focused on central features and resistant to misleading info
• Suggests original memories for central details survived and we’re not distorted