Eyewitness Testimony

Question 1

Three stages of memory

Answer 1

Encoding
Storage
Retrieval

Question 2

Encoding

Answer 2

How information is stored in memory

Not all information is stored

Question 3

What may affect encoding of memory?

Answer 3

Prior knowledge of the event
Duration of the event
Repetition of the event
Stress (cortisol) level at the time

Question 4

What is encoding based on?

Answer 4

Limited attentional resources

Question 5

Storage

Answer 5

Short term memory

Move to long term memory after rehearsal, repetition and surviving intervening experiences

Question 6

Where do encoded items go?

Answer 6

Short-term memory

Question 7

What enhances retrieval?

Answer 7

Motivation to recall
Desire to cooperate with questioner
Understanding what is important to recall

Question 8

What inhibits recall?

Answer 8

Motivation to recall (pressure causes stress)
Desire to cooperate with questioner
Understanding what is important to recall

Question 9

Until when were children not used as witnesses?

Answer 9

Early 1900s

Question 10

What is recognition?

Answer 10

The ability to identify, after witnessing an event, or learning a list of items, any details or items that were present during the event or in the list

Question 11

What is recall?

Answer 11

After witnessing an event, or learning a list of items, a participant is asked to describe the event or list all the study items that he or she can remember

Question 12

Semantic memory

Answer 12

General knowledge 
Facts
Places 
Names 
Words

Question 13

Episodic memory

Answer 13

Knowledge of personal events

Question 14

Tulving (1983)

Answer 14

Identified differences between semantic and episodic memory

Retrieval cues are important in retrieval of episodic memory

Question 15

What is a synergistic ecphory?

Answer 15

When retrieval cues activate a stored memory

Question 16

Scripts

Answer 16

Generalised event representation
Slot for every expectation
Leads to automatic expectations for slots to be filled when recalling the event

Question 17

When do we use scripts?

Answer 17

When there is a weak memory trace we use a script as a template

Question 18

Congruent

Answer 18

If the journey is congruent with your script-based knowledge, you are likely to retrieve it accurately

Question 19

Mismatch

Answer 19

If there is a mismatch between expectation and actual events, this may be resolved by using the expectation as a guide, preventing accurate recall

Question 20

Hess (1991)

Answer 20

Scripts develop with age

Young children have scripts for recurring events

Question 21

____ age children are more vulnerable to the negative effects of script based knowledge than ____ age children

Answer 21

Preschool

Elementary school

Question 22

____ children are unable to differentiate between a special event and a scripted event

Answer 22

Preschool

Question 23

As children get older they are able to identify ______

Younger children may incorporate this into their scripts

Answer 23

Special events

Question 24

As children get older they learn more…

Answer 24

Words
Events
People
Speech

Question 25

Jack et al (2009)

Answer 25

Language development is related to encoding of memories

Question 26

Strategies for memory

Answer 26

Rehearsal
Organisation - grouped into meaningful chunks
Ellaboration - visual or verbal connections between words

Question 27

Children’s eyewitness testimony can be false because of

Answer 27

Lying

Conforming

Question 28

Lying

Answer 28

Intentionally changing the truth due to an inability to remember events

Question 29

Conforming

Answer 29

Unintentionally distorting the truth about events they do remember

Question 30

Lindberg (1991)

Answer 30

Showed videos of children cheating
Asked if the children cheated
Younger children couldn’t recognise cheating and so reported it less

Question 31

As children get older, they become less _____

Answer 31

Suggestible

Question 32

Ceci (1991)

Answer 32

Children are not very suggestible when talking about inappropriate touching or sexual abuse

Question 33

Bruck et al (1995)

Answer 33

Children can be susceptible to suggestion and this can lead to wrongful convictions

Question 34

Source monitoring

Answer 34

The ability to identify the sources of beliefs accurately

Question 35

Children perform worse than adults….

Answer 35

Only when misleading questions are used

Question 36

Children perform just as well as adults….

Answer 36

When the questions being used are fair

Question 37

Bauer et al (1994)

Answer 37

Exposed children 1-2 years old to events both novel and familiar
Tested 18 months later
Children were able to recall many novel events
Demonstrates ability for long-term recall of specific past events

Question 38

Ways to reduce suggestibility

Answer 38

Reduce leading questions
Use free recall
Warn witnesses not to be influenced and tell them to only report what they are confident on

Question 39

Social pressures - do adults make children lie?

Answer 39

Children want to comply with and please adults
They aren’t raised to question them
They may lie to meet a goal set by an adult
They may not deal with the pressure or leading questions in a court room - may lead to conforming in a stressful situation
They are susceptible to demand characteristics in the courtroom