Factors Affecting The Accuracy Of Eyewitness Testimony Flashcards
What is an eyewitness testimony?
The ability of people to remember the details of events, such as accidents and crimes, which they themselves have observed
What is misleading information?
Incorrect information given to the eyewitness usually after the event
What is a leading question
A question which, because of the way it is phrased, suggests a certain answer
What is the study that aimed to investigate whether leading questions affects eyewitness recall accuracy?
Loftus and Palmer
- Participants watched 7 traffic accident films, then answered a questionnaire about the accident. They were asked the critical question, “How fast were the cars going when they _ each other?” with different verbs used in each of the 5 conditions
- The mean speed for each of the different verbs showed that the verb ‘smashed’ produced a higher speed estimate than the verb ‘contacted’. They concluded that the form of questioning can distort witnesses’ memory, making it less accurate due to misleading information
Give evaluations to the study that aimed to investigate whether leading questions affects eyewitness recall accuracy
(+) High Control
- A strength of Loftus and Palmer’s research is that it is a lab experiment and establishes cause and effect
- As this experiment had high control over extraneous variables, we can be confident that the IV, the verb used in the critical question, affected the DV, participants’ estimates of speed
- This is a strength because the findings of this study are unlikely to be affected by confounding variables
- Therefore this study has high internal validity
(-) Low Ecological Validity
- A limitation of Loftus and Palmer’s research is that it has low ecological validity
- In Loftus and Palmer’s research the participants watched a video of a car accident and therefore not likely to respond in the same way as they would if the car accident was real
- This is a limitation because the findings of this study may be difficult to generalise to real life situations
- Therefore this study has low external validity
What is post-event discussion?
Describes the discussion that takes place between co-witnesses after the crime has taken place
What is the study that aimed to investigate the effect post-event discussion on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony?
Gabbert et al
- Participants watched a video of the same crime from different points of view. They were then asked to either: discuss the video they had just seen or have no discussion, control group
- 71% of participants in the discussion group recalled details they didn’t see in the video, influenced by the discussion, while 0% of the control group did. They concluded that participants often go along with each other, either to win social approval or because they believe the other witnesses are right and they are wrong
Give evaluations to the study that aimed to investigate the effect post-event discussion on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony
(+) High Control
- A strength of Gabbert’s research is that it is a lab experiment and establishes cause and effect
- As this experiment had high control over extraneous variables, we can be confident that the IV, whether the participants had a discussion or not, affected the DV, % of participants that provided information they did not witness
- This is a strength because the findings of this study are unlikely to be affected by confounding variables
- Therefore this study has high internal validity
(-) Low Ecological Validity
- A limitation of Gabbert’s research is that it has low ecological validity
- In Gabbert’s research the participants watched a video of a crime and therefore not likely to respond in the same way as they would if the car accident was real
- This is a limitation because the findings of this study may be difficult to generalise to real life situations
- Therefore this study has low external validity
What is anxiety?
A state of emotional and physical arousal
What emotions and physical changes arise due to anxiety?
- Worried thoughts
- Feelings of tension
- Increased heart rate
- Sweating
What does Yerkes-Dodson Law state?
Moderate anxiety improves recall, while very high or low anxiety impairs it
What is weapon focus
When a witness’s attention is on the weapon due to fear for their own safety. This leads to less focus on the perpetrator’s appearance and reducing the ability of the witness to provide accurate identification
What is the study that aimed to investigate if the presence of a weapon affects the accuracy of eyewitness testimony?
- Participants sat in a waiting room while an argument occurred next door. In the low anxiety condition, a man walked by with a pen covered in grease, and in the high anxiety condition, he carried a bloody knife. Participants were later asked to identify the man from a set of photographs
- In the low anxiety condition 49% of participants correctly identified the man while in the high anxiety condition 33% of participants correctly identified the man. They concluded that weapon focus reduces accurate recall of the perpetrator due to the anxiety experienced by the witness
Give evaluations to the study that aimed to investigate if the presence of a weapon affects the accuracy of eyewitness testimony
(+) High Control
- A strength of Johnson and Scott’s research is that it is a lab experiment and establishes cause and effect
- As this experiment had high control over extraneous variables, we can be confident that the IV, the presence or absence of a weapon, affected the DV, the recall of the person committing the crime
- This is a strength because the findings of this study are unlikely to be affected by confounding variables
- Therefore this study has high internal validity
(+) Practical Application
- A strength of research into anxiety and eyewitness testimony is that it has practical applications
- From the research we now understand that anxiety can distort eyewitness testimony and make it less accurate. Therefore, police must be cautious when interviewing anxious witnesses, especially in crimes involving weapons
- This research improves our understanding of eyewitness testimony in real-life criminal investigations, leading to fewer incorrect convictions, fewer appeals and cost savings in the criminal justice system
What is the study that aimed to investigate the effect of anxiety on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony in a real life shooting?
Yuille and Cutshall
21 witnesses were initially interviewed by police and 13 agreed to participate in the follow-up interview by Yuille and Cutshall 4-5 months later. Both sets of interviews obtained verbatim accounts, with follow-up questions for clarification. The researchers also included two misleading questions in the follow-up
Yuille and Cutshall found that the 13 witnesses in the follow-up interview were accurate 5 months later, with little change in their testimonies. Misleading questions had no effect and those most distressed by the incident were the most accurate (88% compared to 75% for the less stressed group). In real-life situations, recall is not always inaccurate or affected by misleading questions and stress is not linked to recall accuracy
Give evaluations to the study that aimed to investigate the effect of anxiety on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony in a real life shooting
(-) Yuille and Cutshall Contradict The Effects Of Misleading Information And Anxiety On EWT
- Yuille and Cutshall’s research contradicts the theory that leading questions and anxiety reduces the accuracy of eyewitness testimony
- Yuille and Cutshall interviewed 13 witnesses to an armed robbery in Canada. They included two misleading questions in their interviews and found that these questions had no effect on the accuracy of the EWT. In addition, they found that the most distressed witnesses gave the most accurate accounts
- This challenges the validity of other studies suggesting anxiety and leading questions negatively affect EWT
(-) Low Population Validity
- A limitation of Yuille and Cutshall’s research is that it has low population validity
- The sample consisted of 13 witnesses to an armed robbery in Canada, which is small and may not be representative of the general population, limiting the ability to draw broad conclusions
- This is a limitation of the research because it may be difficult to generalise the findings about leading questions and eyewitness testimony to the rest of the population
- Therefore the study has low external validity
