MEMORY: Factors Affecting Accuracy Eyewitness Testimony: Misleading Information Flashcards
when asked a question what may mislead you to give a certain ansmwer
wording of the question
define EWT
ABILITY of people to remember details of events theyve observed
(e.g accidents and crimes)
what factors affect EWT
misleading info
anxiety
misleading info
incorrect info given to EW usually after event
many forms - leading Q , post event discussion btwn co witnesses
leading Q
when question phrased in a certain way which suggest a certain answer
e.g was knife in his left hand - makes person think there was a knife there
PED lol not econ
when theres more than one witness to an event
they may discuss what theyve seen with each other
influencing accuracy fo recall of event
why is leading questions a particular problem for EWT
hint police
police may direct witness to give a particular answer
How many particpants were in Loftus and Palmer’s experiment 1
45
Whaqt did the particpants in Loftus and Palmer 1 do
watch videos of car accidents then were asked questions
what is a critical question
leading question or misleading information
in the critical question particpants were asked to
describe how fast cars were travelling
‘about how fast was the car going when they collided with each other’
How many groups of participants were there
5
each group was given a different ….
verb
what were the different verbs given to particpants
hit collided contacted smashed bumped
what was calculated for each particpant group
the mean
what was the mean for contacted
31.8mph
what was the mean for smashed
40.5mph
what does the leading question do to the recall
biases EW recall of event
what does the response bias explanation suggest
wording of question doesn’t effect participant’s memories
just influences how they decide to answer
the leading questio with teh verb smashed encourages participants tooo
choose a higher speed estimate
Loftus and Palmer conducted a second experiment for that supported teh explanation for
substitution explanation
What is the substitution explanation
wording of a leading question changes participants memory of the film clip
How was the substitution explanation shown
participants who og heard ‘smashed’ more likely to report seeing broken glass
even though there was none
than those who heard hit
what did teh criticakl verb in the second experiment do
altered their memory of the incident
What is post event discussion
when eyewitnesses to crime discuss their memories and experiences with each other
Gabbert et al 2003 studied who
particpants in pairs
what did each participant in Gabbert et als study watch
video of same crime
but each person from a different POV
as the participant pair watched the same video from a different angle what did this mean
each participant could see elements in the event the other could not
In Gabbert et al give an example of what one participant could see the other couldn’t
title of a book carried by a young woman
at the end of gabbert et als study what did the participants do
discussed what they saw before individually completing a test of recall
What did Gabbert et als research find
71% of partipants mistakenly recalled events they hadn’t seen in the video but picked up from PED
What was evidence of memory conformity in Gabbert et al study
control group whi had no PED had a 0% mistaken recall of events they hadn’t seen
What are the two explanations for PED affecting EWT
2Cs
Memory contamination
memory conformity
What is memory contamination
co - witnesses to a crime discuss with each other
and their EWT becomes altered/distorted
In memory contamination why do EWT become altered/distorted
they combine (mis)information from other witnesses with their own memories
who came up with memeory conformity
Gabbert et al
What is memory conformity
witnesses go along with each other due to
social approval or believing the other one is right and they are wrong
Unlike with memory contamination in memory CONFORMITY ….
the actual memory is unchanged
eval for factors affecting EWT
REAL WORLD APP - important practical uses in the criminal justice system
CP - practical app of EWT may be affected by issues with research
LIMITATION - substitution explanatino - EWT more accurate for some aspects of an event than others
LIMITATION - evidence challenging memory conformity
REAL WORLD APPLICATION STRENGTH - important uses in teh jsutice system
got important x uses in the
x system
consequences of x EWT can be x
x believes leading q can have usch a x effect on memory that police officers need to be very x about how they x their q when x EW
x sometimes asked to act as x witnesses in court and explain x of EWT to x
this shows x can help to the x the way the legal system works,
especially by x x people from x convictions based on x EWT
got important practical uses in the justice system
consequences of innacurate EWT can be serious
loftus beleives leading q can have usch a distorting effect on memory that police officers need to be very carefu about how they phrase their q when interviewing EW
Psychs sometimes asked to act as expert witnesses in court and explain limtaitnos of EWT to juries
this shows psychologists can help to the improve the way the legal system works, especially by protecting innocent people fromfaulty convictions based on unrealiable EWT
explain the counterpoint to real world applications FOSTER
x applications of EWT may be affected by issues w x
e.g L&P pt watched film x in a lab, which is a v x experience from witnessing a x event (less x)
x pointed out what EW rememeber in real x has significant x
whereas pt repsonses in x doesn’t matter in same x
so pt could have been less x and x to be x
suggesting research such as LOFTUS way too x about effects of misleading info - EWT may be more x than many x suggest
practical applications of EWT may be affected by issues w research
e.g L&P pt watched a film clips in a lab, which is a v diff experience from witnessing a real event (less stressful)
Foster pointed out what EW rememeber in real world has significant consequences
whereas pt repsonses in research doesn’t matter in same way
so pt could have been less serious and motivated to be accurate
suggesting research such as LOFTUS way too pessimistic about effects of misleading info - EWT may be more dependable than many studies suggest
explain limitaiton evidence against substitution
limitaition of substitution epxlanation is EWT more x for some x of an event than other
x and Hayne 2001 particpants shown x
when pt later asked x questions , recall for x details more accurate than for x ones
presumably particpants attention x on x features of the event and these memories relativley x to misleading info
this suggests that x memories for x details survived and weren’t x, an outcome not x by x explanation
limitaition of substitution epxlanation is EWT more accurate for some aspects of an event than other
Sutherland and Hayne 2001 particpants shown clip
when pt later asked misleading questions , recall for central details more accurate than for peripheral ones
presumably particpants attention focused on central features of the event and these memories relativley resistant to misleading info
this suggests that og memories for central details survived and weren’t distorted, an outcome not predicted by substitution explanation
Point for ‘evidence challenging memory conformity’
limitation of memory x explanation is evidence xxx actually alters EWT
researchers showed PT film x
2v , mugger hair x brown in one , x brown in the other
pt discussed clips in x, eahc having seen x versions
they often didnt x what they’d seen in x or what tehy had x from co x
but a x of the two e.g common answer to hair question was not light/dark brown but x brown)
this suggests memory itself is x through x by misleading xxx rather than the x of memory x
limitation memory conformity explanation is evidence PED actually alters EWT
researchers showed PT film clip
2v , mugger hair dark brown in one , light brown in the other
pt discussed clips in pairs eahc having seen diff versions
they often didnt report what they’d seen in clips or what tehy had heard from co witnesses
but a blend of the two e.g common answer to hair question was not light/dark brown but medium brown)
this suggests memory itself is distorted through contamination by misleading PED rather than the result of memory conformity
Explanation for Limitation : DEMAND CHARACTERISTICS
Lab studies have identified misleading info as a cause of innacruate EWT partly by being able to control variables
but researchers argue answers given by pt in lab studies due to demand characteristics
pt want to be helpful and not let researcher down so they guess when asked a question they dont know the answer to
