factors affecting the accuracy of eyewitness testimony: misleading information

Question 1

how can EWT be misleading?

Answer 1

-police questions may direct a witness to a particular response
-‘smashed’ or ‘bumped’ can suggest a speed of a car

Question 2

what was the research done on leading Qs?

Answer 2

-loftus and palmer arranged for 45 Ps to watch clips of car accidents and then asked questions ab the accident
-asked Qs such as ‘how fast were the cars when they hit eachother?’
-five grp of Ps each given a verb in the critical question
-one group had hit
-other grps had contacted, collided, smashed

Question 3

why do leading Qs effect EWT?

Answer 3

-The way Q is phrased infulences how prsn decided to answer
-‘smashed’ encourages answer w higher speed
-wording of question changes the Ps memory of the clip
-those who were prsented w the word smash then reported broken glass(there was none) than those who heard ‘hit’
-verb altered memory

Question 3

what were the findings of loftus and palmer?

Answer 3

-verb contacted estimated 31.8mph
-verb smashed estimated 40.5mph
-leading Q biased eyewitness recall of event

Question 4

what was the research on post event discussion?

Answer 4

-Gabbert et al studied Ps in pairs
-each Ps saw clip of same crime
-but at diff viewpoints
-both ps didnt always see the same elements
-both Ps discussed what they saw before indivdually completing a test of recall

Question 4

what were the findings of Gabberts research?

Answer 4

-71% of Ps msitakenly recalled aspects of the evnt they didnt see
-but picked up in discussion
-control group(with no discussion) had 0%
-evidence of memory conformity

Question 5

what are the strengths?

Answer 5

(real world app)
-important in crimninal jutice system
-police should be careful on how they phrase Qs
-can dsitort and affect memory
-psycholgists sometimes asked to act as expert witnesses in court trials and explain limits of EWT to juries
-so helps impove the way the legal system works
-protect innocent people from faulty convictions

Question 5

why does post event discussion affect EWT?

Answer 5

-mem0ry contmaintion(actual memory unchanged)
-when discussion takes place eye witness testimonies become contaminated
-combine misinformation from other witness with their own memory
-also memory conformity- witnesses go along w eachother
-to win approval or believe other is right

Question 6

whats are the weaknesses?

Answer 6

(counterpoint to real world app)
-loftus and palmer PS watched a clip in a lab
-diff to IRL event
-what eyewtinesses remember IRL is more important
-but responses in research doesnt matter the same
-loftus is too pessimsitc- EWT is dependable

(evidence againsit substitution)
-EWT is more accurate for some aspects of an event than for others
-sutherland and hayne showed PS a video clip
-when PS later asked misleading Qs
-recall was morw accurate for central events than peripheral
-attention focused on central features
-resistant to misleading info
-memories of central features were not distorted

(evidence challenging memory conformity)
-post event discussion alerts EWT
-skagerberg and wright showed Ps film clips
-muggers hair dark brown in one and light in other
-PS discussed clips in pairs, each saw diff version
-blended what they saw and what co witnesses saw
-claimed hair was ‘medium brown’
-so memory affect by memory contamination rather than conformity

(demand char)
-zaragoza claims that answers in lab studies
-Ps want to be helpful and not let researcher down
-so guess if they dont know the answer