Factors Affecting The Accuracy Of Eye Witness Testimony Flashcards
What is eyewitness testimony?
The ability of people to remember the details of events which they have observed.
What is misleading information?
Incorrect information given to the eyewitness after the event.
What is a leading question?
A question that suggests a certain answer due to its phrasing.
What is an example of a leading question?
‘Was the knife in the accused’s left hand?’
This implies that this was the case.
What was the aim of Loftus & Palmer (1974)?
To investigate how leading questions influence the memory of events.
What was the method of Loftus & Palmer (1974)?
45 students (5 groups of 9 students) were shown the same short video clips of car crashes.
They were asked- ‘about how fast were the cars going when they ________* each other?’
*smashed, collided, bumped, hit, contacted.
What were the results of Loftus & Palmer (1974)?
Range of 9mph-
Smashed: 40.8mph.
Contacted: 31.8mph.
Verb INTENSITY caused the mph estimation to change.
What was the conclusion of Loftus & Palmer (1974)?
Suggests that EWT is inaccurate and unreliable.
Information from two sources (witnessing the event and the question) integrates in a way that we are unable to tell which source each detail came from (all we have is one ‘memory’).
What is post-event discussion?
The original memory of an event being distorted through discussion of the event with other people.
What is the source monitoring theory?
When memories of an event are genuinely distorted (due to schemas or discussion).
What is conformity theory?
When one’s recap of events appear to change as they go along with the accounts of co-witnesses.
What was the aim of Gabbert et al (2003)?
To investigate the effect of post-event discussion on EWT.
What was the method of Gabbert et al (2003)?
- 120 participants (60 students, 60 adults) watched a video of a girl stealing money from a wallet.
- They were either tested individually (control group) or in pairs (co-witnesses).
-Participants watched different perspectives of the video - only one person had witnessed the crime.
-All participants completed a questionnaire testing their memory.
What were the results of Gabbert et al (2003)?
-71% of co-witness groups recalled information they hadn’t seen.
-60% said that the girl was guilty.
What was the conclusion of Gabbert et al (2003)?
Post-event discussion has a significant effect on the accuracy of EWT.
What are evaluation points for Loftus & Palmer (1974)?
-Real-world implications: the Devlin Report (1976) instructed juries that it is not safe to convict on a single EWT alone.
-Lacked mundane realism/ecological validity: participants viewed video clips rather than being present at a real-life accident.
What are evaluation points for Gabbert et al (2003)?
-Lack of ecological validity: participants knew they were taking part in an experiment and were more likely to have paid close.
-Population validity: students and adults were tested, with little differences in results.
What is the Yerkes-Dobson law (graph)?
According to the Yerkes-Dobson graph, how do small-medium levels of anxiety affect EWT accuracy?
Increases.
According to the Yerkes-Dobson graph, how do high levels of anxiety affect EWT accuracy?
Interferes, decreases.
What was the aim of Johnson & Scott (1976)?
To investigate how anxiety affects EWT accuracy.
What was the method of Johnson & Scott (1976)?
Participants were told to wait in a waiting room, and heard an argument in the other room.
-Weapon- knife with blood.
-No weapon- pen with grease.
What were the results of Johnson & Scott (1976)?
-Weapon- 33% accuracy.
-No weapon- 49% accuracy.
What was the conclusion of Johnson & Scott (1976)?
High anxiety decreases EWT accuracy.
What was the aim of Yuille & Cutshall (1986)?
To investigate how anxiety affects EWT.
What was the method of Yuille & Cutshall (1986)?
13 witnesses to a robbery & murder in Canada were re-interviewed 5 months after the crime. The re-interview included 2 misleading questions.
What were the results of Yuille & Cutshall (1986)?
The misleading questions had no effect on EWT.
What was the conclusion of Yuille & Cutshall (1986)?
Witnesses of real-life events are accurate.
