Lesson 7- Accuracy of eye 👁 witness testimony Flashcards
What is an eye witness testimony (EWT)?
Eye 👁 witness testimony- account given by ppl of event they witnessed- ability of ppl to remember details
— Affected by misleading info e.g. leading questions & post event discussions
What is a leading question?
Leading Question- question which suggests to witness what answer is desired
Who investigated evidence for leading questions and when?
Loftus & Palmer (1974)
What did Loftus & Palmer do?
1) 45 students shown video of car 🚗 accident
2) Pps asked ‘how fast cars 🚗 going when they hit?’
3) Verb ‘hit’ replaced with ‘smashed’, ‘contacted’ etc
What did Loftus & Palmer find?
1) Verb used had significant effect on estimated speed
2) Contacted- lowest speed 🐌 & smashed- highest speed
3) Wording changed pps memory- those who heard ‘smashed’- more likely to report seeing glass when in fact none than those who heard ‘hit’
… use of leading verbs had effect on people’s estimates
What is a post event discussion?
Post event discussion- witness of event discuss what they experienced & happened after event
How do post event discussions affect eye witness testimonies?
1) Memory contamination- witnesses mix info from other witnesses into own memory
2) Memory conformity- witnesses pick details from other witnesses- believe others right & they wrong- want social approval
Who investigated evidence for post event discussions and when?
Gabbert et al (2003)
What did Gabbert et al do?
1) Pps in pairs watched video of crime- from different views/angles … slightly different things
2) Pps allowed to discuss after what they had seen
What did Gabbert et al find?
1) 71% mentioned aspects of video they ✖️ 👀
2) However it was 0% for pps in control group (✖️ allowed to discuss)
… witness absorb info from others deu to memory contamination or conformity
What are the evaluation points for research into effects of misleading info on EWT?
👎- watching video of event very different to watching real event in real time- chance to pick up on details- ALSO pps less motivated- be accurate in study rather than real life where EWT is serious- … results ✖️ reflect real life
👍- mostly lab 🧪 studies- extraneous variables controlled- easier to make conclusion about effects of misleading info- easily replicated … ⬆️ reliability- e.g. Loftus & Palmers and Loftus & Zanni’s studies- controlled condition- pps experienced same procedure
👎- watching staged event on video ✖️ cause anxiety unlike real event- anxiety ⬆️ accuracy, studies shown … results not entirely valid- SUPPORTED BY- Yuille & Cutshall (1986)- 13 real witnesses interviewed 5 months after real crime- asked 2 leading questions- recall accurate & leading q’s had ✖️ effect- … EWT in lab 🧪 different to real life- anxiety felt
👍- applies to real life- e.g. the police 👮♂ need to be careful when phrasing questions- ALSO witnesses should not discuss their testimony… research important for legal system & helps to improve accuracy of EWT
