Key question: Is EWT too unreliable to trust?

Question 1

Why is it important?

Answer 1

-Avoiding any false convinctions: Innocence Project (2010): 72% wrongfully convicted due to EW misidentification.
-Leads to other unreliable methods e.g cog interviewing
-Society may lose trust in the justice system- crimes unreported
-Ronald Cotton: wrongfully convicted of rape-10 years in prison.
-No forensic evidence: EWT is relied upon.

Question 2

A02-applied theories + concepts

Answer 2

Reconstuctive memory: confabulation of memories due to schemas.
MSM: no maintenance rehearsal: forgetting + incorrect recall occurs.
e.g Peterson + Peterson-rehearsal is important when recalling trigrams.
Misinformation effect(e.g leading q´s)- errors in recall
Weapon focus: less attention on subject-less accurate recall
Post-information effect:exposure to external forces eg news can distort memories + decrease recall.

Question 3

A03- Evidence

Answer 3

Valentine + Mesout (2019): increased anxiety decreases recall + less likely to identify culprit
Yuille + Cutshall: increased arousal increased recall- EWT is reliable if in real life.
Bartlett´s reconstructive memory-war of the ghosts-EWT cannot be trusted if not interviewed immediately.
Loftus + Palmer(1974)- verb changes estimated speed-misinformation effect
-lab exp:no emotional connection/consequences-lowers credibility.