Factors affecting EWT : misleading info - Post Event discussion

Question 1

What is post event discussion?

Answer 1

When two witnesses of a crime, discuss the crime together, they may contaminate each other’s memory of the crime.

Question 2

How did Gabbert et al investigate post event discussion?

Answer 2

Ppts watched a video of a girl stealing money from a wallet.
Ppts were then allowed to discuss the crime with another participant whom they were paired with.
Only one participant in each pair actually saw the girl stealing the money. The other ppt saw the crime from a different perspective.
Gabbert et al found that 71% of the witnesses in the co-witness group recalled information they had not actually seen.
This highlights the issue of post event discussion and the powerful effect it can have on the accuracy of EWT.