eyewitness testimony

Question 1

what is an eyewitness testimony

Answer 1

where a person who was present at an event recalls what happened.

Question 2

what are the different types of factors affecting the accuracy of eyewitness testimony

Answer 2

misleading information and anxiety

Question 3

Misleading information

Answer 3

studies have shown the accuracy of eyewitness testimony can be altered after the event by exposing the witness to misleading information during post-event discussion.

Question 4

the study that loftus and palmer conduct for misleading info

Answer 4

conducted a study to test the effect of leading questions. The procedure for one experiment was as follows:

45 participants were shown the same video clips of car crashes.
After each clip, the participants were asked to recall and answer questions on the car crash.
The participants had been divided into 5 groups: Each group was asked the same question – “How fast were the cars going when they X each other” – but with a different verb in place of X:
Contacted
Hit
Bumped
Collided
Smashed

Question 5

the results of loftus and palmers study
(misleading info)

Answer 5

Asking the question using a more intense the verb (e.g. ‘smashed’) rather than a less intense verb (e.g. ‘contacted’), influenced the participant to estimate a higher speed. This supports the claim that asking leading questions affects eyewitness testimony.

Question 6

anxiety

Answer 6

the accuracy of eyewitness testimony can be altered when witnesses are recalling anxiety-inducing events, such as violent crimes

Question 7

inverted u hypothesis

Answer 7

Deffenbacher (1983) suggested an ‘inverted-U’ hypothesis for the relationship between anxiety and the accuracy of eyewitness testimony. According to this hypothesis, a moderate amount of anxiety produces the most accurate and detailed eyewitness testimony. However, too much or too little anxiety reduces the accuracy of the eyewitness testimony.

Question 8

strength of the inverted u hypothesis

Answer 8

Further, a meta-analysis by Deffenbacher et al (2004) found high levels of stress negatively affect eyewitness testimony, further supporting the inverted-U hypothesis.

Question 9

how to improve the accuracy of eyewitness testimony

Answer 9

cognitive interview

Question 10

The cognitive interview

Answer 10

a method of conducting police interviews to improve the accuracy and detail of eyewitness testimony. It draws on some of the research above, such as the need for cues to help trigger memory.

Question 11

strength for cognitive interview

Answer 11

Evidence supporting the effectiveness of the cognitive interview: Geiselman et al (1985) found that the cognitive interview increased the accuracy and detail of recollection compared to standard police interviews.

Question 12

weakness for cognitive interview

Answer 12

Conflicting evidence: However, a meta-analysis by Kohnken et al (1999) found that although the cognitive interview increased the number of accurate details recalled compared to standard police interviews, the cognitive interview also increased the number of inaccurate details recalled.