Eyewitness Testimonies Flashcards
Describe an eyewitness testimony
An account or evidence provided by people who witnessed an event
What factors can affect the reliability of EWT?
leading questions
post event discussion
anxiety
Who conducted the study which gives evidence for the effect of misleading questions?
Loftus and Palmer
What was the sample used in the first study?
45 uni students
What were participants asked to do in loft us and palmers first study?
Shown a stimulated car crash and asked to estimate the speed at which the car was travelling at
How many conditions were there?
5 conditions
What were the 5 words used for each condition?
Smashed
Collided
Bumped
Hit
Contacted
What were the average speed estimates for each condition?
Smashed- 40.5mph
Collided- 39.3mph
Bumped- 38.1mph
Hit34.0mph
Contacted- 31.8mph
In l&f second study what’s the sample used?
150 student
How many conditions ere there in the second study?
3
What were the three words used in the individual conditions?
1) hit
2) smashed
3) no question- control group
For those in condition one, how many claimed that they saw broken glass
16
For those in condition 1, (smashed) how many claimed that they didn’t see broken glass?
34
For those in condition 2, (hit)how many claimed that they saw broken class?
7
For those in condition 2, how many claimed that they didn’t see broken class?
43
For those in condition 2, how many claimed that they didn’t see broken class?
6
For those in condition 3, how many claimed that they didn’t see broken glass?
44
What do these results from both studies conducted by L&P suggest to us?
The type of word used to form a leading question can influence the accuracy of EWT and it shows that Leading questions can reconstruct our memories of an event
Evaluate the validity of their studies
Demand characteristics: participants may have guessed the aim of the study thus answered the way the experimenter would want them to.
Participants didn’t actually experience the event thus had it been a real life situation, they would have experienced s greater emotional response that could have effected their memory
Applications of the effects of leading questions
Can be used to train the police not to use leading questions if they wish to get an accurate recall of information about a crime scene from witnesses
