Eye Witness Testimony

Question 0

Loftus 1975- misleading information/question.

Answer 0

Misleading questions
Presented a film leading up to a car accident
Split into TWO groups
Control and experimental
Control was asked the correct question
‘How fast the white sports car going when it passed the barn while travelling along country road?’

Experimental group was asked
How fast was the white sports care going when it passed the barn

Question 1

What is EWT?

Answer 1

Eye witness testimony is a statement about what has been seen.

Question 2

How many said yes to seeing a barn from the experimental group in Loftus’ 1975 study?

Answer 2

17%

Question 3

Why did the control group from Loftus 1975 say there was a barn though it wasn’t mentioned to them?

Answer 3

Post event info interfered with their testimony.

Question 4

Loftus 1980-

Answer 4

Testing demand characteristics.

Question 5

Loftus 1975

Answer 5

Misleading info & question.

Question 6

Loftus 1980- demand characteristics.

Answer 6

Included a incentive.
Reward for correct answers.
Group1- film involving a pedestrian being knocked over after a car had stopped at a stop sign.
2- same sign but stopped at a yield sign.

When questioned some were misleading.
People who saw the stop sign we’re mislead by a yield sign ( in the question)
Then told Ppts to look to slides and say which ones were included in the clip.
Four groups.
1- no reward
2- $1 dollar for each correct answer.
3 - $5 dollar for each answer.
4- $25 offered to the person in the group who scored most.

70% got answer wrong when misleading question was presented.
Original memory placed with misleading post event info when presented with incentive.
Incentive didn’t positively affect testimony.

Question 7

Name the 4 factors that effect eye witness testimony

Answer 7

misleading questions
anxiety
age
stereotypes

Question 8

Schooler et al 1986

Answer 8

Those who weren’t mislead and saw a stop sign did give richer detail.

Question 9

Loftus and zanni - 1975 vocabulary of question.

Answer 9

Film of car accident.
Questions.
'A' broken headlight>>> 7% reported seeing one
'the' broken headlight.>>> 17% saw one.
NO BROKEN HEADLIGHT.

Question 10

Loftus and Palmer 1974 verb change.

Answer 10

‘How fast were the cars going when they hit each other?’
HIT changed to smashed,bumped,collided
Smashed = highest estimate
Contacted = lowest estimate

Question 11

How many Ppts said yes to ‘a’ broken headlight in Loftus and zanni study?

Answer 11

7%

Question 12

Loftus and Zanni- how many said yes to ‘the’ broken headlight?

Answer 12

17%

Question 13

List 1986

Answer 13

Said that Ppts reported high probability events then low ones.

Question 14

Foster 1994

Answer 14

Anxiety on EWT,
2 groups. One thought it would have an effect on trial and second though film was a simulation.
Ppts accurate if they thought evidence would result in real conviction?
Video of bank robbery.
Had to pick out bank robber from identity parade.

People who thought it was real were more accurate.

Question 15

Loftus 1979 - individual differences and EWT.

Answer 15

Red purse theft
Mislead that it was in fact BROWN.
2 Ppts resisted central detail of theft. Colour of purse.
Others gave minor details of theft…..
Some may be uncertain on details that are small.
If striking and obvious more accurate.

Question 16

Deffenbacher 2004

Answer 16

2 Meta analysis.
Stress and EWT.
1st meta analysis- 27 studies & 1727 Ppts &laquo_space;eyewitnesses who had higher levels of stress identified few correct faces of perpetrator….. 42%

Low stress= 54%

2nd meta analysis- crime scene detail.
Accurate recall
64% low stress
52%. High stress
So high stress is ineffective for accurate recall

Question 17

Johnson and Scott

Answer 17

1976

Question 18

Johnson and Scott 1976

Weapon recall

Answer 18

No weapon condition- overheard conversation in room then man appeared with a pen covered with grease.

Weapon condition- overheard a heated convo then saw a guy holding a paper knife covered in blood.

Fifty photos shown-

49% no weapon were accurate.
33% in weapon condition.

Anxiety distracts witness from other detail.
Reduces accuracy of witness recall.

Question 19

How many Ppts were accurate in the no weapon condition? ( Johnson & Scott study)

Answer 19

49% were accurate.

Question 20

How many were accurate in weapon condition in Johnson and Scott study?

Answer 20

33%

Question 21

What did the Johnson and Scott study conclude?

Answer 21

Anxiety (from seeing the weapon)distracts witness from other significant details.

Question 22

Yulie and Cutshall

Answer 22

1998. • pro stress and EWT.

Question 23

Yulie and Cutshall (1998)

Answer 23

13 witnessed stressful event of armed thief at gun shop.

High levels of stress had 88% accuracy of recalling events.

Question 24

Valentine

Answer 24

2003 stress and accuracy of EWT

Question 25

Valentine 2003

Answer 25

Analysed questionnaire
640 eye witnesses.
Presence of weapon no affect on accuracy of identifying the suspect.

Question 26

Ceci and bruck (1999)

Answer 26

Factors that influence EWT 
Misleading questions
Close ended questions
Repetitive questioning 
Adult influences.
Mainly for children.

Question 27

Sam stone study - Leichtman and Ceci (1995)

Answer 27

2 min visit in classroom by Man Sam stone
Pre school children 3-4yrs
10 weeks children were interviewed using misleading questions
Dirtied the teddy bear or ripped the book?

‘Did you see Sam stone rip up book?’
72% = remembered. 44%=seen
20% had maintained with seen.

Question 28

Sam stone study by Leichtman and Ceci ….. What year?

Answer 28

(1995)

Question 29

Cohen and Faulkner

Answer 29

1989- age and EWT.

Question 30

Cohen and Faulkner 1989

Answer 30

Silent video clip to middle aged Ppts and elderly.
10mins later they read a misleading written account.
After a further 10mins a questionnaire was given to them
Elderly group more likely to claim info had been originally witnessed in film rather then it being false.

Findings - elderly less likely than younger adults to give an accurate recall of events because of post event info.

Question 31

Findings of Cohen and Faulkner (1989)

Answer 31

Found out that elderly were to give less accurate info than young adults because of post event info.

Question 32

Yarmey et al

Answer 32

1984 memory recall

Question 33

Yarmey et al 1984

Answer 33

Saw slides of staged sexual assault
Had to answer a questionnaire on what they had seen
80% elderly failed to mention crucial items KNIFE
20% of younger failed to mention this KNIFE

Question 34

Coxon and valentine

Answer 34

1997 age and misleading info

Question 35

Coxon and valentine 1997

Answer 35

Goes against Yarmey and Cohen and Faulkner.
Tested EWT on young children,young adults and elderly.
Short video of baby abduction by a posed nurse.
Misleading questions asked and answered.
Elderly less likely to recall misleading info so accuracy was high. 37% misled.
Adults - 39% and children 60% misled.