Factors Affecting Accuracy of Eyewitness Testimonies: Misleading Information Flashcards
1
Q
who was the researchers on leading questions?
A
Loftus and Palmer
2
Q
what was the research of Loftus and Palmer?
A
- arranged 45 ppts to watch clips of car accident and then they were asked questions about the accident
- in critical question ppts was asked to describe how fast the car was travelling
- 5 groups of ppts and each group was given a different verb in the critical question, e.g. hit, contacted, bumped, collided, smashed
3
Q
what were the findings of Loftus and Palmer?
A
- mean estimated speed was calculated for each ppt group
- verb contacted = mean estimated speed was 31.8
- verb smashed = mean estimated speed was 40.5
- leading questions biased the EW recall of event
4
Q
why do leading questions affect EWT?
A
- response-bias explanation = wording of question has no real effect on ppts’ memories but influence how they decide to answer
- substitution explanation = wording of leading question changes ppts memory
5
Q
who were the researchers involved in the research on post-event dicussion?
A
Gabbert et al
6
Q
what did Gabbert et al do?
A
- studied ppts in pairs
- each ppt watched a video of the same crime but filmed from different points of view
- each ppts could see element of video that other could not
- both ppts then discussed before individually completing a test of recall
7
Q
what were the findings of Gabbert et al?
A
- 71% of ppts mistakenly recalled aspects of the event that they did not see in the video but picked up in the discussion
- corresponding figure in a control group, no discussion was 0%, evidence of memory conformity
8
Q
why does post-event discussion affect EWT?
A
- memory contamination =co-witnesses to a crime discuss it with each other so their EWT may become altered or distorted
- memory conformity = witnesses go along with each other either to win social approval or they believe the other witnesses were right, actual memory is unchanged
9
Q
what is the evaluations of misleading information?
A
+ important practical uses in criminal justice system
- evidence against the substitution explanation
- evidence against memory conformity
