Factors Affecting Eyewitness Testimony Flashcards
What is a key issue in eyewitness testimonies?
The wording of a question may lead you to give us a certain answer (leading questions).
What did Loftus and Palmer research into leading questions on the accuracy of eyewitness testimonies consist of?
They divided American students into five groups. All participants watch a video of a car crash and asked the specific question about the speed of the car.
The verb used in the question was manipulated.
E.g. how fast were the cars going when they smashed/collided/bumped/hit/contacted with each other?
As the vet became more aggressive, the estimated speed increased.
In a later study, they used the words hit and smashed, and they also asked if there was any broken glass. Yes, response increased when smashed was used.
What are the issues with research into misleading information?
Artificial tasks were used, in real life there would be an increased stress level in a real accident which may have influenced memory.
They broke the code of ethics if they deceived participants, however it was necessary and didn’t result in any harm generally.
What was the research where post event discussion on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony was studied?
120 volunteer students recruited and watched the same video of a crime being committed from different points of view. This meant each participant could see elements of the event that others could not.
Participants were the test pairs that did not discuss what they had seen or pairs where they could discuss what they had seen in a recall test.
It was found that 71% of witnesses in the co-witness group recorded information they have not seen but it picked up in the discussion.
Why does post event discussion affect EWT?
Memory contamination- when co-witnesses discuss a crime, their testimonies may become altered or distorted because they combine information from others with their own memories
Memory conformity - when witnesses go along with other person to win social approval or because they don’t believe their answers are right.
What is a limitation of research into post event discussion?
Often people in these studies know that they are in a study and may not take it as seriously as they would if it was a real eyewitness testimony which could mean the difference between life and death.
What is the weapon focus effect?
This is where a witness will focus their attention on a weapon being used in a crime, causing a state of anxiety leading to them not being able to recall other details accurately.
What study was used to support the idea that anxiety has a negative effect on recall eyewitness testimony?
A study carried out to investigate the effects of a weapon on eye-witness testimony accuracy.
Participants were led to believe they were in the waiting room of a study. Group one overheard and disagreement in the next room and a man emerged holding a pen with grease on his hands. Group overheard a heated argument followed by broken glass and a man holding a paper knife with blood on it.
It was found that after having the participants try and identify the man from 50 photos the ones in the high anxiety group record less than those in the low anxiety group.
What is a limitation of anxiety decreasing eyewitness testimony accuracy?
Research into anxiety having an indicative effect on recall may actually be testing surprise rather than anxiety. One study had scissors, raw chicken and a handgun as handheld items in a hairdressing salon video. Participants accuracy was significantly poorer in the more unusual conditions however lower in the one with the scissors which is high anxiety but low and usualness.
Another limitation is that the waiting room study took place in laboratory so participants may have known they were taking part of an experiment and developed demand characteristics
Why might anxiety have a positive impact on recall?
The fight or flight response is triggered increasing our alertness and improving our memory for the event.
What is an example of anxiety having a positive effect on recall?
A real shooting in Canada, where a shopowner shot of thief dead was witnessed and witnesses were interviewed by police and agreed to a research interview months after the event. The witnesses were highly accurate in their account even five months later
What are the limitations of research into anxiety having a positive effect on recall?
It was not a laboratory study and so they may have been confounding variables in the time between the event and the interview which could have caused their memories to change.
How can the contradictory findings of anxiety and recall be explained?
The York Dodson law suggest the relationship between emotional arousal and performance looks like an inverted you.
