Factors Affecting Eye Witness Testimony

Question 1

What is Misleading Information: Leading Questions

Answer 1

A leading question is a question which, because of the way it is phrased, suggests a certain answer

Question 2

What is the Response Bias Explanation

Answer 2

This occurs when the wording of a question has no enduring effect on an eyewitness’s memory of an event, but influences the kind of answer given

Question 3

What is the Substitution Explanation

Answer 3

This occurs when the wording of a question does affect eyewitness memory - it interferes with the original memory, distorting its accuracy

Question 4

Explain the study Loftus and Palmer (1974): Experiment 1

Answer 4

Investigate the effect of leading questions on the accuracy of an eyewitness’s immediate recall. Forty five American students when shown a film about a car crash. When asked a series of question, there was one critical word used (‘hit’, ‘smashed’, ‘collided’, ‘bumped’). Participants then had to estimate the speed the cars collided at, found that the harsher the word used, the higher the speed estimated by the participants. This suggests the response bias has occurred and affected accuracy of eye witness testimony.

Question 5

Explain the study Loftus and Palmer (1974): Experiment 2

Answer 5

Investigate the effect of leading questions on the accuracy of a person’s memory of an event. 150 American students watched a car accident and were then given a questionnaire. In the two conditions, the verb was changed from ‘hit’ to ‘smashed’. A week later participants were then asked if they saw broken glass, there was not any. The participants in the ‘smashed’ group, had a higher percentage reported of seeing broken glass, which support substitution effect occurring, distorting the participants memory of the event.

Question 6

Outline a limitation of Loftus and Palmer (1974) study

Answer 6

Loftus’s and Palmer’s research lacks ecological validity

Question 7

Outline another limitation of Loftus and Palmer (1974) study

Answer 7

Loftus and Palmer’s research lacks population validity

Question 8

Outline a strength of Loftus and Palmer (1974) study

Answer 8

Loftus and Palmer’s research has a high level of control

Question 9

What is Misleading Information: Post Event Discussion

Answer 9

Post Event Discussion occurs when conversations take place between witnesses to a crime and this can lead to contamination of their memory for the event. This is because the combine (mis) information from other witnesses with their own memories.

Question 10

Explain the study Gabbert et al (2003)

Answer 10

Investigate the effect of post event discussion on the accuracy of eye witness testimony. Participants in both conditions watched a video. In the post event discussion group where the participants discussed what had happened, only one had watched a video of a women stealing, however 60% of them reported seeing a woman stealing. This shows that post event discussion can affect negatively the accuracy of eye witness testimony.

Question 11

Outline a limitation of Gabbert et al (2003) study

Answer 11

Gabbert et al’s study lacks ecological validity

Question 12

Outline another limitation of Gabbert et al (2003) study

Answer 12

In Gabbert et al’s study we are unable to establish the cause of the distortion

Question 13

Outline a strength of Gabbert et al (2003) study

Answer 13

Gabbert et al’s study has good population validity

Question 14

What is Anxiety

Answer 14

An unpleasant state of emotional and physical wellbeing. It is not clear whether anxiety makes eye witness recall better or worse

Question 15

What is the Weapon Focus Effect

Answer 15

Where witnesses to violent crimes focus on the weapon used, rather than the culprit’s face, negatively affecting their ability to recall important details such as face recognition.

Question 16

Explain the Johnson and Scott (1976) study

Answer 16

Investigate whether anxiety affects the accuracy of eye witness testimony. Participants took part in a laboratory experiment. Asked participants to wait in a room, where a man ran out holding a pen or a blooding letter opener knife. Both were shown 50 photographs to identify the individual they had seen, accuracy was lower in the higher anxiety conditions, which shows a negative effect on eye witness testimony.

Question 17

Explain the Yuille and Cutshall (1986) study

Answer 17

Investigate the effect on anxiety in a real life shooting. Where 13 witnesses to a real life shooting took part in a follow up interview 5 months later. Found that the witnesses were still accurate with their eye witness accounts even after 5 months, and little change was found. Witnesses who reported the highest levels of anxiety were the most accurate with their responses, shows that anxiety may enhance memory.

Question 18

Outline a limitation of Johnson and Scott (1976) study

Answer 18

Johnson and Scott’s research may test surprise rather than anxiety

Question 19

Outline another limitation of Johnson and Scott (1976) study

Answer 19

Johnson and Scott’s research has been criticised for lacking ecological validity

Question 20

Outline a strength of Yuille and Cutshall (1986) study

Answer 20

Yuille and Cutshall’s research has a higher degree of external validity than artificial lab based studies

Question 21

Outline a limitation of Anxiety affecting eye witness testimony

Answer 21

Limitation of field studies is that they lack control of variables

Question 22

Outline another limitation of Anxiety affecting eye witness testimony

Answer 22

There are ethical issues in this area of research

Question 23

Explain the Yerkes Dodson Law

Answer 23

Suggests that a little bit of anxiety increases accuracy of eye witness testimony whereas too much can decrease accuracy of eye witness testimony. There is an optimal level, of not too much or too little.