Eyewitness Testimony Flashcards
During the acquisition stage of memory, the information related to the original event is ______.
During the acquisition stage of memory, the information related to the original event is ENCODED.
What is the name of the memory stage in between the original event being encoded (acquisition stage) and the eyewitness recalling the event?
The retention stage.
During the retention stage, memory-related information _____ in memory.
During the retention stage, memory-related information RESIDES in memory.
What is the name of the memory stage where the eyewitness recalls what they can remember?
The retrieval stage.
The first factor which influences the acquisition stage is exposure ____. Intuitively, the longer that an individual is exposed to the ‘event’ or stimulus of interest, the _____ it will be remembered.
The first factor which influences the acquisition stage is exposure TIME. Intuitively, the longer that an individual is exposed to the ‘event’ or stimulus of interest, the BETTER it will be remembered.
The second factor which influences the acquisition stage is event ___. That is, some features in the environment (such as a weapon) will be salient, catching our attention, and will in turn be remembered better.
The second factor which influences the acquisition stage is event SALIENCE. That is, some features in the environment (such as a weapon) will be salient, catching our attention, and will in turn be remembered better.
The third factor which influences the acquisition stage is prior _____. That is, we are prone to recalling what we expected to happen, rather than what actually happened.
The third factor which influences the acquisition stage is prior EXPECTATIONS. That is, we are prone to recalling what we expected to happen, rather than what actually happened.
What are the 3 factors which can interfere with the acquisition stage?
- Exposure time
- Event salience
- Prior expectations
One factor which can impact eyewitness memory is the ____ of the retention stage. According to the forgetting curve (Ebbinghaus, 1885), memory is best when recall is _____ and there is a steep drop in what can be remembered within the first ___ hours after the event.
One factor which can impact eyewitness memory is the DURATION of the retention stage. According to the forgetting curve (Ebbinghaus, 1885), memory is best when recall is IMMEDIATE and there is a steep drop in what can be remembered within the first 9 hours after the event.
The impact of retention duration was investigated by Shephard (1967) who tested the picture recognition skills of 34 clerical workers after various intervals (2 hours, 3 days, 1 week, 4 months). Findings: 100% accuracy when tested ___ hours later. This accuracy decreased to __% when tested 4 months later.
The impact of retention duration was investigated by Shephard (1967) who tested the picture recognition skills of 34 clerical workers after various intervals (2 hours, 3 days, 1 week, 4 months). Findings: 100% accuracy when tested 2 hours later. This accuracy decreased to 57% when tested 4 months later.
A second factor which can impact on the retention stage is exposure to new _____, which can then either replace or be combined with the original _____.
A second factor which can impact on the retention stage is exposure to new INFORMATION, which can then either replace or be combined with the original MEMORY.
A study by Loftus (1957) suggests that, when a person is exposed to post-event information which contradicts their original memory, they come to a compromise.
All participants read a diary extract which reported a demonstration conducted by 8 demonstrators. Immediately after, half were asked ‘were the 4 demonstrators male?’ whilst the other other half were asked ‘were the 12 demonstrators male?’. A week later, participants were asked how many demonstrators there were. What was the finding?
In the 4 group, participants reported an average of 6.4.
In the 12 group, participants reported an average of 8.9
Conclusion: In both groups, participants dealt with the conflicting information by integrating them and finding a rough compromise of mid-ground.
Can casually mentioning a non-existent object mess with testimony?
Loftus (1979/1996) conducted a field experiment at a student protest whereby some items were stolen from a student’s bag by a male confederate. Immediately after, the female ‘victim’ cried in front of a real witness about her ‘tape recorder’ which was stolen in the bag. One week later, an insurance agent called the witness and asked whether they had seen the tape recorder. Yes! The witness had a vivid memory of the tape recorder which was never seen.
Building on this, more recent research suggests that people appear more susceptible to the influence of post-event information, if the post-event information is presented EARLIER/LATER in the retention stage, before formal retrieval (Loftus, 2005).
Building on this, more recent research suggests that people appear more susceptible to the influence of post-event information, if the post-event information is presented LATER in the retention stage, before formal retrieval (Loftus, 2005).
How easy is it to distinguish real memories from false ones?
It is difficult to distinguish real memories from false ones. This is because individuals can often be very confident about their false memories, and often describe them in some detail. However, work on ____imaging holds some promise- perhaps one day we will establish the neural correlates of true memories versus false memories.
Work on neuroimaging holds some promise- perhaps one day we will establish the neural correlates of true memories versus false memories.
Are some witnesses more susceptible to false memories?
Yes. Age matters, with young children and the elderly being ____ likely to have false memories than adolescents and adults. Additionally, highly anxious individuals are also ____ susceptible to false memories. Further, research suggests that personality matters, with individuals who are detached and frequently ___ themselves more prone to create false memories (Wright & Livingstone-Roper, 2002).
Yes. Age matters, with young children and the elderly being MORE likely to have false memories than adolescents and adults. Additionally, highly anxious individuals are also MORE susceptible to false memories. Further, research suggests that personality matters, with individuals who are detached and frequently DISSOCIATE themselves more prone to create false memories (Wright & Livingstone-Roper, 2002).
One factor which affects memory recall is the ____ used in order to recall the information.
One factor which affects memory recall is the TECHNIQUE used in order to recall the information.
Free recall leads to ____ accurate but ____ complete recall.
Free recall leads to MORE accurate but LESS complete recall.
Structured questioning leads to more ____ recall but less ____ recall.
Structured questioning leads to more COMPLETE recall but less ACCURATE recall.
A second factor which can impact retrieval is the ____ used in the question (e.g. Loftus and Palmer’s famous study about a car crash, published in 1974).
A second factor which can impact retrieval is the WORDING used in the question (e.g. Loftus and Palmer’s famous study about a car crash, published in 1974).
What are the two factors which can impact recall?
- Technique (free recall vs. structured interview)
2. Wording of the question
In 1974, the NBC in New York conducted a study which required participants to view a stimulus with a target and then shortly after view a line-up and identify the target as either present or absent. In this experiment, there was ____ mistaken identifications (that means, _____ occurrences of an innocent person being identified as the target).
In 1974, the NBC in New York conducted a study which required participants to view a stimulus with a target and then shortly after view a line-up and identify the target as either present or absent. In this experiment, there was 1,843 mistaken identifications (that means, 1,843 occurrences of an innocent person being identified as the target).
According to Lindsey and Wells (1985), single suspect presentations are preferable, as they lead to absolute decisions with regards to recognition rather than ____ decisions. In fact, the single presentation method appears to be superior to the traditional line-up because there are _____ false positives in target-absent conditions when this method is used.
According to Lindsey and Wells (1985), single suspect presentations are preferable, as they lead to absolute decisions with regards to recognition rather than RELATIVE decisions. In fact, the single presentation method appears to be superior to the traditional line-up because there are LESS false positives in target-absent conditions when this method is used.
What do we do well in England and Wales in terms of administering ID line-ups?
Firstly, we are good at telling the EW that the suspect may not actually be in the line up. Secondly, we are also good at making sure that the suspect doesn’t ____ ____ in the line up as being different.
Firstly, we are good at telling the EW that the suspect may not actually be in the line up. Secondly, we are also good at making sure that the suspect doesn’t STAND OUT in the line up as being different.
In England and Wales, what are the 2 things we do badly when it comes to carrying out ID line up’s?
- Often, the professional present will know who the suspect is
- We should ask the victim for a confidence judgement of their identification immediately, yet in practice this rarely happens
A VIPER is a Video Identification Parade Electronic Recording (Memon et al, 2011). It is a means of electronically presenting what?
Line-ups.
One challenge with identifying a perpetrator is the issue of unconscious transference. What is unconscious transference?
This is where a figure who was seen around the time of the crime (and consequently feels familiar), is identified as the perpetrator.
A second issue when it comes to identifying a perpetrator is that of cross-racial identification. What is this?
This is the phenomenon that we are poorer at identifying perpetrators who are from a different race.
The Cognitive Interview was developed by who?
Geiselman et al (1984)
Fisher and Geiselman (1992)
What are the 4 stages of the cognitive interview?
- Report everything
- Reinstate the context
- Different orders
- Different perspectives
Report everything:
During the ‘report everything’ stage, participants are asked to report absolutely anything and everything they can remember, no matter how trivial. The information can be given in any order- it’s totally up to the witness. It also doesn’t matter if the witness can only provide ___ information.
During the ‘report everything’ stage, participants are asked to report absolutely anything and everything they can remember, no matter how trivial. The information can be given in any order- it’s totally up to the witness. It also doesn’t matter if the witness can only provide PARTIAL information.
Contextual reinstatement:
Research shows that memory recall is more accurate when an individual re-instates the context in which the original memory was encoded. Consequently, during this stage, the interviewer tries to re-create the ____ and external context of the event. For example ‘tell me what you could smell, what the temperature was like, what you could hear, what you could see’ etc.
Consequently, during this stage, the interviewer tries to re-create the INTERNAL and external context of the event. For example ‘tell me what you could smell, what the temperature was like, what you could hear, what you could see’ etc.
