Eyewitness testimony (EWT)

Question 1

What is the influence of schema?

Answer 1

memories are reconstructions of events, influenced by active schemas, ready-made expectations based on previous experiences , moods and existing knowledge

Question 2

How do schemas affect the reliability of EWT?

Answer 2

schemas are used to fill in the gaps of our knowledge and simplifying the process of info - so witnesses aren’t just recalling facts as they happened, they’re reconstructing memories biased by schemas, active at the time of recall

Question 3

What are schemas?

Answer 3

A readiness to interpret sensory info in a pre-set manner.

Question 4

What did Bartlett find about the influence of schemas on EWT?

Answer 4

When western cultural pp’s were told a Navajo Indian story, the war of ghosts, that didn’t make sense from their cultural viewpoint, their memory of the story became distorted, details changed to fit into a western cultural viewpoint