Factors affecting accuracy of EWT: Misleading information

Question 1

misleading information

Answer 1

information given to a witness after an event which will distort EWT accuracy. It can take many forms such as, leading questions and post event discussion

Question 2

leading question

Answer 2

question that suggests a desired answer distorting accuracy of EWT.

Question 3

who did research on leading questions

Answer 3

Loftus and Palmer (1974)

Question 4

Research on leading questions

Answer 4

45 students were shown 7 clips of traffic accidents and then given a questionnaire with one critical question. The critical question was a leading question where the p’s were asked to describe how fast the cars were travelling. There were 5 groups of p’s and each group was given a different verb in critical question. Smashed, hit, contacted, collided, bumped.

Mean estimated speed was calculated for each group. Verb ‘contacted’ resulted in mean of 31.8mph. Verb ‘smashed’ resulted in mean of 40.5mph.

Shows how the leading question biased the eyewitnesses recall of the event.

Question 5

why do leading questions affect EWT

Answer 5

This is due to response bias and substitution explanation

Loftus and Palmer (1974) conducted a second experiment that supported substitution explanation, which proposes wording of leading question changes p’s memory of the clip. This was shown because p’s who originally heard smashed were more likely to report seeing broken glass than those who heard hit (there was no broken glass). Therefore, the critical verb altered their memory of the incident

Question 6

response bias explanation

Answer 6

wording of question has no effect on an EW’s memory but just influences the answer given

Question 7

substitution explanation

Answer 7

wording of a question does affect EWT, it interferes with the original memory distorting its accuracy.

Question 8

post event discussion

Answer 8

witnesses discuss what they saw after an event. This can affect the accuracy of their accounts

Question 9

who did research on post event discussion

Answer 9

Gabbert et al (2003)

Question 10

Research on post event discussion

Answer 10

Studies p’s in pairs. Each p watched video of the same crime but from different point of view’s, meaning each p could see elements of the video that the other couldn’t. Both p’s discussed what they’d seen before individually completing test of recall

Found 71% of p’s wrongly recalled aspects of the event they didn’t see in the video but heard in the discussion. The corresponding figure in a control group, where there was no discussion, was 0%. This was evidence of memory conformity.

Question 11

Why does post event discussion affect EWT?

Answer 11

Memory contamination and memory conformity

Question 12

memory contamination

Answer 12

when co-witnesses discuss a crime, their EWT’s may become distorted because they combine (mis)information from other witnesses with their own memory

Question 13

memory conformity

Answer 13

witnesses go along with each other, either to win social approval or because they believe others are right. Unlike with memory contamination, the actual memory is unchanged.

Question 14

Evaluation of misleading information as a factor affecting accuracy of EWT (brief)

Answer 14

strength - real world application, however issues with research
weakness - evidence against substitution explanation
weakness - evidence challenging memory conformity

Question 15

strengths of misleading information as a factor affecting accuracy of EWT

Answer 15

real world application. Important practical uses in criminal justice system. Consequences of inaccurate EWT can be very serious. Loftus believes leading questions can have distorting effect on memory so police officers need to be aware of how they phrase questions when interviewing EW’s. Shows that psychologists can help to improve way the legal system works. HOWEVER, practical applications of EWT may be affected by issues with research. Loftus and Palmer’s p’s watched film clips in a lab which is very different from witnessing a real crime. Suggests that researchers are too pessimistic about effects of misleading information. EWT may be more dependable than many studies suggest

Question 16

weaknesses of misleading information as a factor affecting accuracy of EWT

Answer 16

evidence against substitution explanation. EWT is more accurate for some aspects of an event than others. Sutherland and Hayne found p’s recalled central features much more than peripheral ones. Presumably, p’s attention was mainly focused on central features of an event and these memories were relatively resistant to misleading information. Suggests that original memories for central details survived and weren’t distorted, an outcome that wasn’t predicted by the substitution explanation.

evidence challenging memory conformity that post event discussion actually alters EWT’s. Skagerberg and Wright had p’s discuss film clips with two versions. One had a mugger with dark brown hair the other had light brown hair. P’s discussed in pairs, each seeing different version. They often reported a blend of what they had seen and what they’d heard from co-witness. Suggests memory itself is distorted through contamination by misleading post event discussion rather than a result of memory conformity.