Memory : Eye Witness Testimony

Question 1

Define eye witness testimony:

Answer 1

The ability of people to remember the details of events which they have observed themselves.

Question 2

Define misleading information:

Answer 2

Incorrect information given to an eyewitness, usually after the event.

Question 3

Define leading questions:

Answer 3

A question which because of the way it is phrased suggests a certain answer.

Question 4

Define post event discussion:

Answer 4

Occurs when there is more than one eye witness in an event where they discuss what they have seen.

Question 5

Define anxiety:

Answer 5

A state of emotional and physical arousal which can effect the accuracy of an eye witness testimony.

Question 6

Define cognitive interview:

Answer 6

A method of interviewing eye witnesses to help them retrieve more accurate memories.

Question 7

What psychologist done research on the impact of leading questions on eye witness testimony?

Answer 7

Loftus and Palmer

Question 8

Explain the method of Loftus and Palmer’s research on the impact of leading questions on eye witness testimony:

Answer 8

• 45 participants were put into 5 groups watched film clips of car accidents.
• Ps were asked questions about how fast the cars were going, with each group given a different verb to describe the cars motion e.g. smashed, collided.

Question 9

What were the findings of Loftus and Palmer’s research on the impact of leading questions on eye witness testimony?

Answer 9

Mean speed for verb “contacted”: 31.8 mph
Mean speed for verb “smashed”: 40.5 mph

Question 10

Name the two reasons why leading questions impact eye witness testimony:

Answer 10

1) Response bias explanation
2) Substitution explanation

Question 11

Explain the response bias explanation as a reason why leading questions impact eye witness testimony:

Answer 11

• Suggests that the wording of the question has no real effect on the Ps memories, but influences how they decide to answer.
• Ps who heard the verb “smashed” were encouraged to choose a higher speed estimate.

Question 12

Explain the substitution explanation as a reason why leading questions impact eye witness testimony:

Answer 12

• Suggests the wording of a leading question actually changes the Ps memory.
• In Loftus and Palmers second experiment. Ps who heard the verb “smashed” reported seeing broken glass (there was none) than those who heard “hit”.

Question 13

Name the three evaluation points for Loftus and Palmer’s research on the impact of leading questions on eye witness testimony and if they are a strength or a weakness:

Answer 13

1) Real-life applications = strength
2) Lacks ecological validity = limitation
3) Demand characteristics = limitation

Question 14

Explain real-life applications as a strength for Loftus and Palmer’s research on the impact of leading questions on eye witness testimony:

Answer 14

• Important practical use in the criminal justice system
• The impact of EWT is very serious in court, so psychologists are sometimes asked to be an expert witness in court to ensure leading questions are not used.
• Shows that psychologists can help the way the legal system works, especially by protecting innocent people from faulty EWT convictions.

Question 15

Explain lacks ecological validity as a limitation for Loftus and Palmer’s research on the impact of leading questions on eye witness testimony:

Answer 15

• In the experiment Ps watched the whole of the car accident from start to finish, which is uncommon in real-life accidents.
• Results do not reflect everyday car accidents
• Unable to conclude if Ps involved in real accidents would have a stronger emotional connection to the event and would be susceptible to the influence of leading questions

Question 16

Explain demand characteristics as a limitation for Loftus and Palmer’s research on the impact of leading questions on eye witness testimony:

Answer 16

• The participants in the experiment may have been aware of the true aims, and realised that the purpose of the study was to conclude the vulnerability to leading questions.
• Results may have been compromised

Question 17

What psychologist carried out research on the impact of post event discussion on eye witness testimony?

Answer 17

Gabbert

Question 18

Explain the method of Gabberts research on the impact of post event discussion on eye witness testimony:

Answer 18

• Ps were put into pairs and each participant was made to watch a clip from the same crime but from a different POV.
• Ps discussed what they had saw before individually completing a recall test

Question 19

What were the findings of Gabberts research on the impact of post event discussion on eye witness testimony?

Answer 19

• 71% of Ps mistakenly recalled aspects of the event that they did not see through their POV but picked up in discussion.
• Control group had a 0% rate of this occurring
• Evidence of memory conformity where witnesses go along with others to gain social approval.

Question 20

Name the 3 evaluation points for Gabberts research on the impact of post event discussion on eye witness testimony and if they are a strength or limitation:

Answer 20

1) Population validity = strength
2) Lacks ecological validity = limitation
3) Demand characteristics = limitation

Question 21

Explain lacks ecological validity as a limitation for Gabberts research on the impact of post event discussion on eye witness testimony:

Answer 21

• Witnesses knew that they were taking part in an experiment and were more likely to have paid close attention to the details of the video clip.
• Do not reflect everyday examples of crime where witnesses may be exposed to less information

Question 22

Explain lacks demand characteristics as a limitation for Gabberts research on the impact of post event discussion on eye witness testimony:

Answer 22

• The participants in the experiment may have been aware of the true aims, and realised that the purpose of the study was to conclude the vulnerability to post-event discussion.
• Results may have been compromised

Question 23

Explain lacks population validity as a strength for Gabberts research on the impact of post event discussion on eye witness testimony:

Answer 23

• Age impacts post event discussion
• Gabbert tested university students and older adults
• Can conclude that post-event discussion affects younger and older adults in a similar way.

Question 24

Which psychologists produced a theory and model of impact of anxiety on eye witness testimony?

Answer 24

Yerkes and Dodson

Question 25

Explain the theory and model produced by Yerkes and Dodson’s on the impact of anxiety on eye witness testimony:

Answer 25

• Anxiety causes a heightened state of physical and emotional arousal
• Model looks like an inverted “U” and states that anxiety performance has an optimum point

Question 26

Which psychologists done research on how anxiety has a negative effect on recall for eye witness testimony?

Answer 26

Johnson and Scott

Question 27

Explain Johnson and Scott’s method for research on how anxiety has a negative effect on recall for eye witness testimony:

Answer 27

• Ps divided into two conditions and each put in a waiting room.
• Condition 1 = Room next to them had a casual conversation about maintenance work, man walked out holding an oily pen
• Condition 2 = Room next to them had a heated conversation, heard glass breaking and arguing, man walked out with bloody knife

Question 28

Explain the findings for Johnson and Scott’s research on how anxiety has a negative effect on recall for eye witness testimony:

Answer 28

• Out of 50 photos man with oily pen was correctly identified 49% of the time.
• Out of 50 photos man with bloody knife was correctly identified 33% of time.

Question 29

What is the tunnel theory?

Answer 29

Suggests that people have an enhanced memory for central events.

Question 30

Which psychologists done research on how anxiety has a positive effect on recall for eye witness testimony?

Answer 30

Yuille and Cutshall

Question 31

Explain Yuille and Cutshall’s method for research on how anxiety has a positive effect on recall for eye witness testimony:

Answer 31

• Interviewed 13/21 eye witnesses to a gun shooting (death) after 4 months after the event
• Interview was compared with the actual police report the eye witnesses done on the actual event
• Ps were asked to rate how stressed they were during the event.

Question 32

What were Yuille and Cutshall’s findings for research on how anxiety has a positive effect on recall for eye witness testimony:

Answer 32

• Witnesses were very accurate
• Minimal change in details told in the police report compared to the interview after 4 months.
• Ps with the highest levels of stress had the most accurate recall.

Question 33

Name the three evaluation points for the theory that anxiety impacts eye witness testimony and if they are a strength or limitation:

Answer 33

1) Is anxiety actually being tested for? = limitation
2) Lacks control = limitation
3) Ethical issues = limitation

Question 34

Explain the limitation of is anxiety actually being tested for as a limitation of the theory that anxiety impacts eye witness testimony:

Answer 34

• Johnson and Scott’s weapon study may be testing for surprise rather than anxiety
• Ps may focus on the weapon because they are surprised at it rather than being scared.
• Pickel’s experiment concludes that eyewitness testimony was significantly poorer in the high unusualness conditions.

Question 35

Explain the limitation of lack of control as a limitation of the theory that anxiety impacts eye witness testimony:

Answer 35

• Researchers usually interview eye witnesses sometime after the event, meaning that Ps will experience events in the meantime that researcher have no control over.
• Extraneous variables may impact the Ps ability to recall events, so the effects of anxiety may be overwhelmed by other factors and so is impossible to assess fully.

Question 36

Explain the limitation of ethical issues as a limitation of the theory that anxiety impacts eye witness testimony:

Answer 36

• In Johnson and Scotts study Ps were not aware that they were safe and protected from harm
• May have caused Ps immense distress, especially being a sensitive topic to those with first-hand experience with knife crime.