Forensic L4 Flashcards
Eyewitness memory
collected by non-specialists, links suspects to crime, memory is fallible, reconstructive and susceptible to suggestion
Physical Evidence
scientific foundation, protocols on collection, preserving, and interpreting
Misinformation Effect
exposure to incorrect info after event occurred often causes people to incorporate the misinformation into their memories
Leading questions study
Loftus and Palmer: smashed vs. collided vs. hit
smashed had the highest speed estimates and people were more likely to report there being broken glass when there wasn’t
Other witnesses compromising memory example
Multiple witnesses come together and merge stories and misidentified a perpetrator
Memory conformity
People discuss what they remember with a partner and incorporate the other person’s memory into their own
Alteration Hypothesis
original info doesn’t exist
Vacant slot explanation (Alteration Hypothesis)
didn’t pay attention so misinformation is recorded as original
Overwriting explanation (Alteration Hypothesis)
detail was overwritten by misinfo
Blend explanation (Alteration Hypothesis)
encode misinformation in same cognitive structure as original information and it blends together (common with numbers and colors)
Coexistence Hypothesis
both memory in orginal and misinformation can be received
Recency Effect (Coexistence Hypothesis )
remember things better that happened more recently
Retroactive interference (Coexistence Hypothesis)
when we learn something new, it makes it harder to remember the old
Susceptibility to Misinformation Effect
More susceptible = age, hypnosis, suggestibility level, misinformation is repeated and peripheral
Less susceptible = misinformation blatantly contradicts original, non-credible source, make a public statement first, less time between crime and presentation of info
How eyewitness memory can be improved
obtain statements ASAP, self-administered interview (minimizes memory decay, maintains accuracy, protects against memory contamination but is generic, inflexible, does not accommodate different types of witnesses)
iWitnessed App
