factors influencing EWT Flashcards
inc weapon focus, post event info, arousal theory
what is EWT
evidence provided by someone that has seen the crime/event occurring. juries see them as reliable
evidence showing hpw unreliable EWT is
huff et al 300 of 500 due to faulty EWT
describe how EWT can be effected by an individuals memory
According to scheme theory, an individual’s memory is an active reconstruction of our memories, constantly changing depending on previous knowledge, norms, and values. Therefore, when a person witnesses a crime, their testimony may be inaccurate as it’s prone to distortion and rationalisation in the schema.
what is post event info
any info that arrives after the event that nay affect/disort an ETQ eg questioning by police, later discussions or listening to others views which reduces the reliability
what did gabbert et al 2003 find
71% recalled info they had not seen but picked up on discussion, control group had no misinformation on video
what did yerkes-dodson law 1908 state
increase in physiological arousal improves performance but only up to a optimum point then performance decreases
high levels of arousal reduce effectiveness of attention paid to the event and memory is negatively influenced so a crime will impact memory and reliability of EWT
what is catastrophe theory deffenbacher 1994
high levels of physiological arousal accompained by anxiety which becomes so intense that a catastrophic drop off in cognitive performance occurs- witnessing crimes may cause so much anxiety that it causes a dramatic drop in memory performance
what is state anxiety
temporary feelings relating to situation eg witnessing a crime u have a flight or fight response which will be shown in physiologicla reactions and in feelings of fear which can be detrimental to accurate memories
trait anxiety
anxious by nature which is part of a persons personality eg if a person is already anxious and they witness a crime their levels of anxiety may become so high that recall is little
define weapon focus
eyewitness cocentration on a weapon to the exclusion of other details of a crime
evidence that supports weapon focus
*loftus,loftus and mess 36 ppt slideshow of 18 scenes in fast food restaurant and each slide shown for 1.5 seconds
co trol showed cheque to cashier and experimental showed customer taking out a gun
eye movement monitored by electro-oculograph to measure how long they looked at either thing
control group most correct photo identification and looked at the shortest
*pickel weapon focus occurs as its unusual in everyday situations and makes us focus on it instead of assailant so when raw chicken pulled out poor recall
against weapon focus
artificial so lack ecological validity so may not relate to real-life crime
yuille and cutshall filed case study and interviewed witness from a real shooting in canada 13 witnesses interviewed by police and reinterviewed 3/4 months later and produced accurate accounts despite researchers deliberate inclusion of leading q and they were anxious with selfreported anxiety of more than 5 in a 7 point scale
wagstaff et al coded police interviews from witnesses and victims of various crimes compared against a police description of primary suspect and no evidence of weapon effect on accuracy
