Memory: Accuracy of eye-witness testimony-Misleading Information

Question 1

Explain what a leading question is

Answer 1

A question which suggests to the witness what answer is desired, or leads them to the desired answer.

Question 2

Explain what misleading information is

Answer 2

information which may lead a witness’ memory for a crime to be altered

Question 3

What is a post event discussion?

Answer 3

This is a talk between co-witnesses or an interviewer and eyewitness after a crime has taken place which may contaminate a memory from the event.

Question 4

Leading Q: Outline the procedure for Loftus and Palmer’s experiment 1 in 1974.

Answer 4

45 students shown 7 films of traffic incidents.
After each film a questionnaire was given, asking them to describe the accident.
They were asked Q’s and given 1 critical Q “how fast were the cars going when they hit each other”.
Other 4 groups given same Q but with different different synonyms to ‘hit’.

Question 5

Leading Q: Explain the findings of Loftus and Palmer’s experiment 1 in 1974

Answer 5

VERB       MEAN SPEED ESTIMATE
smashed-                   40.8
collided-                     39.3
bumped-                    38.1
hit-                               34
contacted-                  31.4
Shows that misleading questions do have an effect on EWT as the change of verb indicated different speeds.

Question 6

Leading Q: Outline Loftus and Palmer’s procedure for experiment 2

Answer 6

They wanted to test if a leading Q could cause info to be altered before it is stored in memory.
New participants divided into 3 groups.
They were shown a film of a car incident including another critical Q “ Did you see any broken glass?”.

Question 7

Leading Q: Explain the findings from Loftus and Palmer’s experiment 2

Answer 7

The findings showed that the leading Q did impact the responses and had changed the actual memory of the participants.

Question 8

Post event discussion: Outline the conformity effect?

Answer 8

In EWT this is when co-witnesses may reach a consensus view of what had happened.

Question 9

Post event discussion: Outline Gabbert et al 2003

Answer 9

Participants paired up and each partner watched a different video of the same event.
In one condition, pairs were encouraged to discuss the event before each recalled the event they watched.

Question 10

Explain findings of Gabbert at al

Answer 10

High no. witnesses 71% who discussed the event went on to recall false items acquired during the discussion

Question 11

Explain how memory for EWT is retained from the event.

Answer 11

info/details-people, place, violence–>LTM–>info is stored–>memories may lose detail–> info retrieved from storage.