Eye Witness Testimony Flashcards
Define eye-witness testimony
When people who have witnessed a crime report what they remember happening mg
What is post event discussion
When witnesses discuss the events, which may affect accuracy of EWTs
Outline research support for post-event discussion
Gabbert et al
2003
- pairs of ppts watched a film from 2 different angles + discussed what they saw
- 71% recalled parts they had not seen vs 0% in control
2015
- participant and confederate watch a film of a robbery
- they discuss and confederate feeds false info
- 75% of ppts gave info not in the video reported by confederate
Give a strength for post event discussion research
+ Real life application - can be used to create more accurate EWT by preventing PED
Give weaknesses of research support for post-event discussion
– Low ecological validity - setting lacks emotional intensity of real crime
– Low mundane realism - watching a film is an artificial task
– Lack of consequences of inaccurate recall - no chance of wrongful conviction
What are leading questions?
Questions that are worded to suggest a particular answer
Outline research support into leading questions
Loftus and Palmer
- 45 students watched clips of traffic accidents
- then were asked questions about it in groups
- different groups were given 5 different verbs when asked to estimate speed of cars
- those with ‘smashed’ had average estimate of 40.5 mph vs ‘contacted’ was 31.8mph
Give weaknesses for research into leading questions
– Low ecological validity - setting lacks emotional intensity of real crime
– Low mundane realism - watching a video is an artificial task
– Lack of consequences of inaccurate recall - no chance of wrongful conviction
– population validity - students are less likely to drive so may have inaccurate estimates of speed
Give a strength for research into leading questions
+ Real life application - can be used to create more accurate EWT by avoiding leading questions
Describe the two explanations for how leading questions affect EWT
• Response bias explanations = wording doesn’t alter memory, just how we answer questions
• Substitution explanation = wording actually changes memory - supported by Loftus and Palmer who also found ppts more likely to report broken glass when ‘smashed’ was used
Outline one research into effect of anxiety on EWT
Johnson & Scott
- ppts in a waiting room heard an argument in next room
-low anxiety condition = man wakes through waiting room carrying a pen with grease on hands
- high anxiety = man walked through with paper knife, covered in blood and sound of breaking glass
- found 49% identified man in low anxiety vs 33% in high
How does tunnel theory explain anxiety’s effect of EWT?
People narrowly focus on the source of anxiety (e.g. a weapon) , so may miss other factors
Outline one real study into effect of anxiety on EWT
Yullie & Cutshall
- shopkeeper shot thief, 13/21 witnesses in study
- interviewed witness 4-5 months later compared to initial police interview & asked to report anxiety at the time
- found little change in accuracy, high stress= 88% vs low stress = 75%
- more anxiety may trigger fight or flight, people are more alert
Describe Yerkes-Dodson Law in expalining influence of anxiety on EWT
States arousal increases performance up to a point before decreasing - there is an “optimal” level of anxiety for best recall before memory suffers
Give strengths for the J&S study into anxiety in EWT
+ high mundane realism, reflective of real crimes
+ high internal validity; control of EVs such as time man being in waiting room, other distractions, etc
Give limitations for J&S study into anxiety in EWT
— - anxiety levels were assumed based on the condition; may not reflect ppts actual anxiety
— Demand characteristics; unusual situation so ppts may have realised this was the study
— Ethical issues; may have caused psychological harm through distressing situation
Give strengths for Y&C study into anxiety in EWT
+ High ecological validity as it was a real crime ; genuine anxiety
Give limitations for Y&C study into anxiety in EWT
— Quasi study means no control over EVs so we cannot ensure affect on IV is the DV (e.g. PED or proximity to crime)
— Subjectivity of self rating anxiety, different for different people
— Retrospective data may mean less accurate memory of anxiety at the time
Describe the 4 parts of the cognitive interview
Report everything - witness asked to recall all details of an event, even if they seem irrelevant
Context reinstatement - interviewee mentally reinstates the environmental and personal context of the event
Reverse order - Interviewer tries alternative ways through the timeline of the incident (backwards)
Changed perspective - witnesses are asked to recall the event form a different point of view
How does each part of the cognitive interview help with accurate recall?
Report everything - retrieval failure states irrelevant details may trigger other important pieces of info
Context reinstatement - Based on retrieval failure, context dependent cues may trigger recall
Reverse order - reduces possibility that recall is influenced by schemas
Changed perspective - reduces influence of schemas
Give strengths of the cognitive interview
+ Research support (Milne & Bull) found CI produced more info than standard police interviews
+ Based on valid theories - theories of forgetting support principle of cues being useful for recall
+ Kohnken found CI produced 81% more correct info than standard; impact for justice system
however! also found 61% more false info
Give limitations for the cognitive interview
— Practical issues - training police interviewers in new techniques takes time & money, interviews are also longer
