Eye Witness Testimony Flashcards
What is eye witness testimony (EWT)?
The legal term for evidence that is provided in court by a person who was a witness to a crime.
What are the two main factors affecting eye witness testimony?
- Misleading information.
- Anxiety
What forms of misleading information can affect EWT?
- Leading questions
- Post-event discussion
What is misleading information?
Incorrect information given to the witness usually after the even has taken place.
What are leading questions?
These are questions that may suggest a certain answer depending on how they are worded.
What is post-event discussion?
Where two witnesses discuss the crime after it has taken place.
Who are the psychologists that conducted research into the effects of leading questions on EWT?
Loftus and Palmer (1974).
What did Loftus and Palmer aim to investigate?
The effects of misleading information (leading questions) on the accuracy of eye witness testimony.
How many students took part in Loftus and Palmer’s study?
45.
What and how many films were the students shown in Loftus and Palmer’s study?
7 films of different car accidents.
What were the participants given after the films in Loftus and Palmer’s research?
A questionnaire about the car accidents; there was one critical question.
What was the critical question in Loftus and Palmer’s research?
How fast were the cars when they ‘hit’ each other?
What changed in the critical question between the 5 groups?
The verb ‘hit’ was changed to ‘smashed’, ‘collided’, ‘bumped’, or ‘contacted’.
What did Loftus and Palmer calculate for each condition?
The mean speed estimates.
Which word had the highest mean speed estimate?
Smashed.
What was the highest mean speed estimate?
40.8 mph.
Which word had the lowest mean speed estimate?
Contacted.
What was the lowest mean speed estimate?
31.8 mph.
What did Loftus and Palmer conclude?
The misleading information in the form of leading questions can affect the accuracy of eyewitness testimony and may even cause the information to be changed before it is stored.
What are the 5 evaluation points for Loftus and Palmer’s study?
\+ High degree of control over variables. \+ Practical applications. - The sample is unrepresentative. - Low ecological validity. - Yuille and Cutshall.
Who conducted research on the effects of post-event discussion?
Gabbert et al (2003).
What did Gabbert et al aim to study?
The effects of post-event discussion on eyewitness testimony.
How many participants took part in Gabbert et al’s study?
120; they were put into pairs.
What were the pairs of participants shown in Gabbert et al’s study?
A video of a girl returning a borrowed book to an empty university office but from two different angles; one partner saw one angle and the other partner saw the other.
What were the two angles of the video in Gabbert et al’s study?
One partner could see the title of the book she was returning, while the other partner could see the girl commit a crime and steal a £10 from a wallet.
What did the participants do after they were shown the videos in Gabbert et al’s study?
They discussed what they saw with their partner and then completed an individual test of recall.
What percentage of people mistakenly recalled parts of the event they did not actually see in Gabbert et al’s study?
71%.
When using a control group, what percentage of people recalled incorrect information when they did not discuss the event with a partner?
0%.
What percentage of people claimed the girl was guilty of committing a crime even though they did not see her commit a crime?
60%.
What was concluded in Gabbert et al’s study?
Witnesses go along with each other due to ‘memory conformity’.
What are the 5 evaluation points of Gabbert et al’s study?
\+ Easy to replicate. \+ Bodner et al (2009). \+ Real-life applications. \+ Positive effect on the economy. - Mock crimes lack consequences of real crimes.
