Eyewitness testimony Flashcards
What is eyewitness testimony?
The evidence and reports given by witnesses of a particular crime
What does EWT rely on?
Good recall of memories
What are leading questions?
Questions which, when phrased a certain way, suggest a certain way
What was Loftus and Palmer’s methodology for experiment 1 (1974)?
They showed a video of a car crash and then asked “How far do you think the cars were going when they hit?” - hit is the critical verb
They changed the critical verb in the 5 conditions - “smashed” “hit” “contacted” “bumped” “collided”
What were the results of Loftus and Palmers experiment 1 in 1974?
They found the participants estimated the fastest speed with “smashed” at 42mph
They found the participants estimated the slowest speed with “contacted” at 38mph
What was Loftus and Palmer’s methodology for experiment 2? (1974)
They split them into 3 groups - one group given “Smashed”, another “hit” and the third wasn’t given an indication of speed
They asked them if they had seen any broken glass even though there was no broken glass in the film
What were the results of Loftus and Palmers experiment 2 in 1974?
The group who had heard smashed were more likely to say they had seen broken glass then any other condition
What is a real life application of looking at the effects of leading questions?
It can help develop special training to avoid police and investigators using them as it impairs the amount of accurate information in the study
What are strengths of using a lab experiment?
- Good control of variables
- Cause and effect relationships can be studied and established
What are limitations of using a lab experiment to look at the effect of leading questions?
It is an artificial condition - watching a video is not as emotional and real as actually seeing it so there would maybe be different recall in a real life situation, therefore this lacks ecological validity
Demand characteristics
Why are demand characteristics an issue?
The participants may figure out the purpose of the study and act accordingly which would reduce the validity and reliability of the experiment
Why must having RPS watch videos of a car crash need to be done with care?
It may bring up traumatic past experiences
This may affect the results of the experiment
What was the methodology for Loftus and Zanni’s study? (1975)
They had RPS watch a video of a car crash
They asked either “did you see the broken headlight” or “did you see a broken headlight” when there was no broken headlight in the film
What were the results for Loftus and Zanni’s study? (1975)
17% of those who heard “The” broken headlight reported they’d seen one
7% of those who heard “a” broken headlight reported they’d seen one
What evaluation points can be made for Loftus and Zannis study?
Has implications for eyewitness testimony as it can help to improve it
Lab study means extraneous variables can be controlled and its possible to establish cause and effect
The study was artificial so the study lacked ecological validity
What is post-event discussion?
The witnesses discussing the event after it has happened
Why is post-event discussion an issue?
They compare their accounts of the accident and may combine misinformation from other witnesses with their own memories of the event, creating unreliable and inaccurate information which may impact on the investigation
What did Gobbert et al (2003) do?
Put RPS in pairs and had them watch a video of a crime but they could each see something the other couldn’t.
They then discussed it after
What were the findings of Gobbert et al (2003)’s study?
71% of RPS recalled incorrect information
What was the rate of incorrect information in the control group in Gobbert et al’s study?
0%
What is the issue with trying to prevent post-event discussion?
It is impossible to prevent in a real life situation
Witnesses will always talk to each other
What is memory conformity?
Individuals wanting to be correct in what they have remembered
What did Shaw et al (1997) find?
Had a confederate who pretended to be a participant with another real participant. The pairs were shown videos of a staged robbery and interviewed after.
When the RPS answered first, recall of accurate information was 58%.
When the confederate answered first with accurate information, the recall of accurate information from the RPS was 67%
When the confederates answered first with inaccurate answers, correct recall for the RPS fell to 42%
What did Gabbert et al (2004) find?
Had two groups - one younger adults and one older adults
Both groups watched a staged crime and then were exposed to misleading information either in the form of reading a written report or in the form of a conversation with a confederate who was pretending to be a participant.
Both groups of adults were more likely to recall inaccurate information when they had a conversation
What was Valentine and Coxon’s methodology? (1997)
3 groups of RPS (children, young adults and elderly people) watched a video of kidnapping and were then asked a series of non-leading and leading questions
What were the results of Valentine and Coxon’s methodology? (1997)
Both the elderly people and the children gave more incorrect answers to non-leading questions
Children were misled more by leading questions than adults or the elderly
What are evaluative points for Valentine and Coxon’s study? (1997)
Implications when children and elderly people are questioned
Artificial experiment - not as emotionally arousing as the real life version of the same situation
Lacks ecological validity
What do psychologists believe about small increases in anxiety on recall?
Increase the accuracy of memory
What do psychologists believe about large amounts of anxiety on recall?
Negative effect
What is weapon focus?
Focusing on the weapon at the sight of a crime, neglecting details about the criminal
What was the methodology of Loftus’s study on the negative effects of anxiety? (1959)
Independent groups design
In one condition they heard an argument followed by the appearance of someone carrying a pen and grease on his hands
In the other condition they heard an argument followed by the appearance of a bloody knife
What were the results for Loftus study on anxiety? (1959)
RPS in condition 1 were 49% accurate in identifying the individual
RPS in condition 2 were 33% accurate in identifying the individual - tunnel vision theory of memory
What evaluative points can be made for Loftus’ study on anxiety? (1959)
High ecological validity as the RPS weren’t aware of the study taking place
Ethical considerations - couldn’t give informed consent and might have been very distressed at the sight of someone with a knife
What was the methodology for Yuille and Cutshall’s study into the positive effects of anxiety? (1986)
Real life shooting in a gun shop with 21 witnesses, 13 took part
Interviewst taken 5 months after the event and compared to the initial police interviews
Accuracy was rated on how many details were reported in both accounts
They were also asked to rate how stressed they felt at the time
What were the results of Yuille and Cutshall’s study?
Witness accounts were accurate with little change
Those with higher stress levels were most accurate at 88% compared to 75% for those less stressed but this is still a high percentage
