Factors effecting Accuracy EWT - Misleading Information Including leading In Questions Flashcards
post-event discussion ( ao1)
contamination of ewt with another witness’s testimony reducing accuracy.
What did Bartlett argue? (ao1)
Memories are not accurate ‘snapshots’ of events but are constructions of events influenced by attitudes and stereotypes
Schema
packages of information about people and objects around us where memories change to fit the pre-existing bias of a person
Loftus and Palmers experiment one
P = if leading questions affect the accuracy of ewt.
E= participants 45 students were shown footage of a car accident they were later as leading questions ‘how fast were the cars going when they ____ into each other?’.
The verb the verbs changed from ‘smash’, ‘hit’, ‘collide’, ‘contact’.
Results show the highest average was smash 40.8 m ph and lowest was ‘contacted’ , 31.8 mph
E = suggests that changes in web influence the speed of car
l =therefore shows that leading questions affects accuracy of ewt
Explanation for the result of experiment one from Loftus and Parma
Response bias→ estimation of Speed occurred due to critical words that influenced their response
Memory is Altered→ critical word changes persons memory so they see the accident differently
Loftus and Palmer↛ second experiment
P = a fleeting questions affect accuracy of ewt
E= 150 students who are shown a clip of a car accident video with no broken glass. There were three conditions in the experiment and were asked about the speed of the car the first condition the verb smash was used second condition the web hit was used and the third condition was a control group. 1 week later they were asked if there was a broken Glass 16/50 in ‘smash’ condition said yes compared to 7/50 in ‘hit’ condition
E = this suggests that the web smashed altered the perception of the accident even though the broken glass was not present.
L = therefore this means that our memory can be altered so it is less likely a biased response
Limitations - individual differences
Individual differences may impact the research into misleading information eg age. Schacter at al found the elderly people have more problem recalling the information, even though the memory is not impaired, compared to younger participants
Limitations of Loftus and Palmer’s research
→Lack population validity using limited sample only students so the research cannot be generalized
→ lacks ecological validity it was conducted in a control with artificial procedures watching a car accident clip is not the same as experiencing a real accident
Post event discussion study
P = if post evebt discussions with co-witnesses affect accuracy of ewt
E = participants what a short film of a girl stealing money from our wallet they were then either in pairs or walk in the literally the participants in pairs was shown different perspective of the Crime shots they were then asked to discuss and complete a questionna results show the 71% of eyewitnesses who discussed events with co-witnesses recalled information they didn’t see control group with no discussion found 0% of eyewitnesses recall of info they didn’t see
E = the shows that Witnesses may change the testimony to much other witnesses testimony (memory conformity)
L = therefore eye witness testimony may not be accurate when there is post that discussion as co-witnesses might be distort in what the eyewitnesses report about an event
Limitation of Gabbert et al study
Not clear whether the distortion obtained reflect problems with memory or whether they reflect social pressure from the covidnesses
Against PED
P = effects of ped can be reduced if participants are warned
E = Bodner et al’s research showed that recall was more accurate when participants were warned about anything a covenant may say as a second hand it formation
E= suggests the effects of post event information given to participants cannot distort a person’s memory if they are warned beforehand
L = the four suggests that first discussion may not affect a participants memory of the event
