Eyewitness Testimony Flashcards
What is eyewitness testimony?
The ability of people to remember details of events they have seen such as crimes or accidents
Who investigated the effects of leading questions on the accuracy of EWT?
Loftus and Palmer (1974) - Car crash clip
What was the procedure of Loftus and Palmer’s study?
Participants watched a film clip of a car crash and then gave the speed estimates of the cars based on a leading question
What was the leading question format for Loftus and Palmer’s study?
“About how fast were the cars going when they X into each other?” With each group being exposed to a critical verb in the place of ‘X’
What were the five verbs that Loftus and Palmer used in their study?
Smashed, collided, bumped, hit & contacted
What were the findings of Loftus and Palmer’s study?
Participants given ‘smashed’ as their verb estimated a speed of 40.5mph. Those given ‘contacted’ estimated 31.8mph
What do the results of Loftus and Palmer’s study show?
The phrasing of the questions suggested how fast the car was going and affected the participant’s answer.
What is postevent discussion?
When, following an event, witnesses may discuss what they have seen, resulting in altering or distortion of their own memory
What was the study into postevent discussion?
Gabbert et al. (2003) - pairs of participants watching the same crime from different points of view
What was the procedure of Gabbert’s study into postevent discussion?
Ps were put into pairs and each watched a video of the same crime filmed from different POVs. Each participant could see things the other couldn’t. Both Ps discussed what they had seen before individually completing a test of recall to see whether they had seen certain things.
What were the findings of Gabbert’s study into postevent discussion?
71% of the Ps mistakenly recalled aspects of the event that they did not see in the video, but had picked up in the discussion.
What were the findings of the control group in Gabbert’s study into post event discussion?
In the control group, where there was no discussion, the number of errors made like in the experimental condition was 0%
What was the conclusion of Gabbert’s study into post event discussion?
That witnesses often go along with each other, either to win social approval or because they believe the other witnesses are right and they are wrong
What is a strength of the studies into the effects of misleading information on eyewitness testimony?
Real world application - the questions asked in police interviews are amended/worded to avoid asking leading questions
Why are the lab studies such as Loftus and Palmer’s not valid explanations about eyewitness testimony?
They lack the emotional aspect of witnessing an accident or crime in real life. Therefore, they may not tell us about how EWT works in the real world with the effects of adrenaline and anxiety in the moment.
Which study demonstrated that anxiety has a negative effect on the accuracy of EWT?
Johnson and Scott (1976) - doctors waiting room fight
What were the two conditions of Johnson and Scott’s study into the effect of anxiety on EWT?
Both groups heard an argument in an adjacent room, followed by glass breaking.
1st: A man walked out holding a pen, with grease on his hands
2nd: A man walked out with a paper knife, with blood on his hands
What were the findings of Johnson and Scott’s study into the effect of anxiety on EWT?
49% of the ‘pen group’ later correctly identified the man in a lineup
33% of the ‘knife group’ later correctly identified the man in a lineup
What do the findings of Johnson and Scott’s study suggest?
Anxiety has a negative effect on EWT as witnesses will focus on the weapon as a source of anxiety and not concentrate on any other details (weapon focus effect)
Which study demonstrated that anxiety can have a positive effect on recall?
Yuille and Cutshall (1986) - real life robbery of a gun shop
What did Yuille and Cutshall find from their study?
The Ps who reported experiencing the highest levels of stress were 11% more accurate in their recall of the details of the event
What does the Yerkes-Dodson law state?
That there is an inverted-U relationship between increasing arousal and increasing performance. Moderate arousal brings the highest levels of performance.
Limitation: Internal validity of Johnson and Scott?
- J&S may have actually tested surprise rather than anxiety over the weapon
- Pickel (1998) - Ps were less accurate with recall when viewing a scene in a hair salon with unusual items like raw chicken
- Suggests that the weapon focus effect is due to unusualness rather than anxiety, so J&S study doesn’t measure what it says it does
Limitation: Ethical issues of research into EWT?
Loftus and Palmer exposed Ps to distressing images
Johnson and Scott put Ps in a high stress situation
Yuille and Cutshall forced Ps to recall traumatic crimes
BREAKS GUIDLINE THAT Ps WILL BE PROTECTED FROM PSYCHOLOGICAL HARM
