Memory - Factors affecting EWT Flashcards
What is Eyewitness Testimony?
Information and details given to police by witnesses e.g location, time, events.
Why can EWT be inaccurate?
Due to faults in memory and leading questions
What are leading questions?
Questions that potentially guide a witness to a certain answer. e.g “did you forget your homework?”
i.e questions that suggest their own answer
What did experiment 1 of the car experiment involve? (Loftus and Palmer)
Participants shown a film of two cars crashing –> then asked questions about the crash.
Question asked = “How fast do you think the cars were going when they hit?”
“Hit” was then substituted for other verbs such as: smashed, bumped, contacted and collided.
What were the results of experiment 1 of the car experiment?
Showed that participants estimated the cars were moving faster when the word “smashed” was used
When the word “contacted” was used, the participants estimated the car was moving at its slowest
What was the method of experiment 2?
Groups of participants used in the same experiment as the first experiment
Group 1 given the word ‘‘smashed’’
Group 2 given ‘‘hit’’
Group 3 given no suggestion of the speed of the car
After one week, participants were asked –> ‘‘did you see any broken glass?’’
What were the results of experiment 2 of the car experiment?=
Group 1 were more likely to say that they had seen broken glass compared to the other two groups
Supports the conclusion that leading questions can affect the EWT.
What are the strengths of the car experiment?
It was a laboratory study so had good control of extraneous variables
Has real-life application
What are the strengths of the car experiment?
It was a laboratory study so had good control of extraneous variables
Has real-life application
What are the weaknesses of the car experiment?
Artificial settings meant it may not give an accurate depiction of EWT
Could cause trauma
Participants may have been aware of test’s true purpose and therefore given in to demand characteristics –> has an effect on reliability and validity
How can anxiety effect EWT?
Low levels of anxiety can result in poor recall
High levels of anxiety can also result in poor recall
What was Loftus’ method for investigating anxiety as a factor affecting EW|?
Group 1 - after hearing a quiet conversation between two people witnessed a man walking out with hands covered in grease and holding a pen
Group 2 - after hearing a heated argument between 2 people, witnessed a man coming out of a room carrying a knife and had blood on hands
Participants asked to identify the man out of 50 pictures
‘weapon focus’
What were the results of Loftus’ anxiety experiment?
Group 1 –> 49% accuracy identifying the man
Group 2 –> 33% accuracy
What is the conclusion of Loftus’ anxiety experiment?
Levels of anxiety do affect the accuracy of recognition
When witnessing violent crimes, you’re more likely to be focussing on CENTRAL DETAILS.
What are the pros of the anxiety experiment?
Participants unaware of scenario = good ecological validity
