Making a case Flashcards
What study was Bruce’s study based on?
Sinha’s study.
Name 4 factors that involved when witnesses try to reconstruct a stranger’s face in Sinha’s study.
- The more familiar the face, the easier it is.
- Eyebrows and hairline are most important features.
- Different illuminations influence recognition.
- Motion of the face helps recognition.
What was the aim of Bruce’s study?
To investigate recognisability or internal and external features in facial recognition.
What are internal and external features?
Internal: Eyes, brows, nose and mouth.
External: Head shape, hairline and ears.
What was the design in Bruce’s study?
Independent measures.
How many experiments were there in Bruce’s study?
2.
What happened in the first experiment in Bruce’s study?
There were 3 conditions: complete composites (E-fit images), composites with only internal features and composites with only external features. Each face was shaven and there were no spectacles. All the participants had to match ten celebrities to the composites (depending on which condition).
What happened in the second experiment in Bruce’s study?
There was a photo array (actual photos) and the participants had to match the celebrity composites with the array. The task was made easy or hard and the composites were composed of either internal or external features.
What were the results for the first experiment in Bruce’s study?
Almost half of the composites in the complete and external composites conditions were sorted correctly. Internal composites were matched incorrectly more often.
What were the results in the second experiment in Bruce’s study?
External features were correctly identified more often.
What did Bruce conclude?
External features are more important for facial recognition because faces are processed holistically.
Evaluate Bruce’s study. State 6 things
Good implications for facial reconstructions.
Reliable as there was a lot of control over variables.
Useful.
Only uni students, not representative.
There could be demand characteristics.
Lacks EV as pictures were used.
What approach is Loftus’ study in?
Cognitive approach.
Define weapon focus…
The concentration of a witness’ attention on a weapon, preventing them from recalling other details of the scene.
How does Loftus’ study support the cognitive approach?
It supports the cognitive approach because it shows that people and input, store and retrieve data which is an assumption of the approach.
What was the aim of Loftus’ study?
To provide support for the weapon focus effect when witnessing a crime.
What was the method of Loftus’ study?
Laboratory.
Who were the participants in Loftus’ study?
36 Washington Uni students.
How were the participants recruited in Loftus’ study?
Half were recruited via an advertisement and half were volunteer psychology students.
What were the participants shown in Loftus’ study?
They were shown 18 slides of a series of events in a Taco restaurant.
What was the difference between the two groups in Loftus’ study?
One slide was different in each group. The control group were shown the customer hand over a cheque and the experimental group were shown the same person pull out a gun on the cashier.
What was the IV and DV in Loftus’ study?
IV: One of the 18 slides of a Taco restaurant.
DV: The recognition (by the participants) of the person.
How was the DV measured in Loftus’ study?
The DV was measured via a 20 item multiple choice questionnaire. Also by seeing photos and identifying the perpetrator.
What were the results in Loftus’ study? 3 things.
There was no significant difference between the 2 groups.
The perpetrator was correctly identified more in the control condition.
Eye fixation data showed that the participants in the experimental group looked at the gun for longer compared to the cheque.
What did Loftus conclude?
That the participants looked at the weapon for longer, making it harder to identify the perpetrator.
Evaluate Loftus’ study. State 4 things.
The study supported his previous research.
There was a high level of control making it reliable and replicable.
It is useful as it tells us that if a weapon is involved the person’s identification is less reliable.
Only uni students- ungeneralisable.
There could be demand characteristics so unvalid
What approach does Geiselman and Fisher’s study support?
The cognitive approach.
How does Geiselman and Fisher’s study support the cognitive approach?
Because it shows that cognitive interviews are most effective when trying to get witnesses to recall a crime.
Name the 4 stages of a cognitive interview.
- Report everything.
- Context reinstatement.
- Recall in reverse order.
- Recall from a different perspective.
State the aim of Geiselman and Fishers study.
The aim was to compare the effectiveness of three interview procedures for optimising eye witness memory.
What was the method and design of Geiselman and Fisher’s study?
Method: Laboratory.
Design: Independent measures.
How was the sample selected?
By self selected and opportunity.
In Geiselman and Fisher’s study, the participants were initially split into two groups. What were they? Who was in each group?
Interviewers and interviewees.
Interviewers: People with law related professions, e.g. policemen.
Interviewees: Undergraduate students.
In Geiselman and Fisher’s study, the interviewees were split into three groups. What were they?
Standard interview.
Cognitive interview.
Hypnosis interview.
What was the procedure in Geiselman and Fisher’s study?
The interviewees watched police training films of violent simulated crimes and they were then interviewed 48 hours later by the interviewers.
In Geiselman and Fisher’s study, what did the standard interview entail?
Each witness was asked to describe in their own words what they remembered.
In Geiselman and Fisher’s study, what did the hypnosis interview entail?
They were asked to describe in their own words everything they remembered before and after hypnosis.
In Geiselman and Fisher’s study, how were the results analysed?
The interviews were tape recorded and scored according to the amount of accurate information and then a stats test was performed.
In Geiselman and Fisher’s study, what were the results?
Cognitive and hypnosis got significantly higher scores.
Evaluate Geiselman and Fisher’s study? State 4 things.
Good applications for interviewing witnesses.
Not generalisable as there was a small sample.
Reliable as there were controls and it was in a lab.
Low EV due to simulated crimes.
What is the context of Vrijj and Mann’s study?
The defendant is innocent until proven guilty so the police must be trained to detect lies. They have to spot subtle body language clues such as looking down, putting their hand over their mouth etc.
What was the aim of Vrijj and Mann’s study?
To investigate the behaviour of a suspect during an interview.
To assess police accuracy in detecting lies whilst watching the interviews.
How many studies were there in Vrijj and Mann’s study?
2.
What was the hypothesis of Vrijj and Mann’s study?
Individual differences would be found in the police. Those who hold stereotypical beliefs in detecting lies would be less effective.