Factors Affecting EWT: Miskeading Information Flashcards
What is eye witness testimony
The ability to remeber details of events such as crimes which they have seen
What is misleading information
Incorrect information given to an eyewitness
Usually after the event
Usually leading questions or post event discussion
What is a leading question
A question phrased in a way which will direct the witness to give a certain answer
What is a post even discussion
When witnesses discuss events after
Influences accuracy of information as they can blend
Who did the research on leading questions
Loftus and palmer
What was the research on leading questions by loftus and palmer
45 students in 5 groups
Watched a car accident clip
Asked to estimate speeds of cars when they hit/contacted/collided/bumped/smashed
When used word smashed - guessed higher speed
What is response bias
Misleading information influenced the answer a person gave but doesn’t lead to a false memory of the event
What was loftus and palmers research for substitution bias
Participants who heard the word smashed were more likely to report broken glass than groups such as hit
The verb altered the incident
Who conducted the research for post event discussion
Gabbert et al
What is Gabberts research for PED
Studied pairs
Watched a crime from different POV (only one could see certain info)
Discussed events before a recall test
Found 71% mistakenly gave information due to the PED
What is memory contamination
When co witnesses discuss events as they combine their memories to others and may be inaccurate
What is memory conformity
Witnesses agree with each other for social approval or because they thing they are wrong. The actual memory doesn’t change
What is the strength for misleading information
Real world application
Psychologists in court describe to jury the extent of EWT
What are the 2 limitations for misleading information
EWT more accurate in some stuff than other. Sutherland and Hayne showed videos of crimes and found the main stuff was less susceptible to distortion due to leading questions
Skagerberg and wright limitation to memory conformity - showed people videos of thieves with light or dark brown hair. Then asked , they blended the answer to medium brown, therefore memory changed by PED not conformity
