memory - factors affecting the accuracy of EWT Flashcards
what did barlett argue
memories are not accurate snapshots of events but are instead reconstructions which are influenced by our personal attitudes and stereotypes
what is a schema
package of information about people and objects in the world around us which we use as mental short cuts
what are leading questions
questions that imply a p[articular answer which influence how a memory is recalled. this could be due to an actual change in memory ( substitution bias explanation ) or due to an emotional pressure to give a particular response ( response bias explanation )
what is post event discussion
when the recalling of events by one witness alters the accuracy of the recall of another witness
what is memory conformity
when a witness goes along with another witnesses account for social approval
what was loftus and palmers research into leading questions
participants were shown clips of traffic accidents and then was asked the following leading question: how fast were the cars going when they ___ into each other. the missing verb was either hit, smashed, collided, bumped and contacted.
what were loftus and palmers findings on their research on leading questions
the more extreme the verb the faster the estimation of mph contacted = 31.8 and smashed = 40.8
what do loftus and palmers findings suggest about leading questions
misleading information in the form of leading questions can influence the recall of EWT
what was loftus and palmers follow up study on leading questions
participants were shown a car accident clip without broken glass. after viewing they asked how fast the cars were going including either verb hit or smashed and a control group. after 1 week they were asked did you see broken glass
what were loftus and palmers findings on their follow up study on leading questions
participants were twice as likely in smashed condition to respond yes than the hit condition
what do loftus and palmers findings in their follow up study suggest about leading questions
the effects of misleading information in the form of leading questions can be long lasting and actually change memories
what was gabberts research on post event discussion
videos of crimes shot from different perspectives were shown to pairs of participants with unique information available in each film
what were gabberts findings into his research on post event discussion
71% of pairs that were allowed to discuss included aspects of the film they had not seen in their recall of events compared to 0% in participants who were not allowed to discuss
what do gabberts findings on post event discussion suggest
witnesses will change their account of a crime to match other witnesses testimony
what was bodners research on post event discussion
used a similar experimental set up to gabbert however participants were discouraged from sharing information in their testimony
what were bodners findings in his research on post event discussion
participants shared significantly less information gained from other witnesses
what do bodners findings suggest about post event discussion
if warned about the dangers of post event discussion its effects can be reduced
what is anxiety
a mental state of arousal that includes feelings of extreme concern and tension which is often accompanied by physiological changes such as an increased heart rate
how does anxiety decrease recall in EWT
high levels of anxiety reduce recall of the criminals face. weapon focus is an explanation for this as weapons cause high anxiety, distracting witnesses and focusing their attention on the weapon rather than the criminal
how does anxiety increase recall in EWT
a state of arousal will increase alertness, and awareness of the situation and surroundings
what is yerks dodsons law of arousal
EWT accuracy increases as anxiety raises as the witness becomes alert, however at a point anxiety becomes too high resulting in lower accuracy of recall
what was johnson and scotts research on anxiety
naive participants were placed outside a lab listening to 1 of 2 conversations:
1 - normal conversation about equipment failure, man walks out with greasy hands and a pen
2 - hostile, breaking glass, furniture knocked over, man walks out with knife covered in blood
participants were then asked to identify the man from 50 photos
what were johnson and scotts findings of their research on anxiety
more participants identified the man with a pen ( 49% ) than the man with the knife ( 33% )
what do johnson and scotts findings suggest about anxiety
the knife caused anxiety resulting in a decreased focus of the mans face
what was peters research on anxiety
patients at a real health care centre were given real injections by a nurse with a researcher also present in the room
what were peters findings in his research on anxiety
the patients were more able to recognise the researcher than the nurse
what do peters findings suggest about anxiety
the injection caused anxiety so there is weapon focus on the syringe
what was yuille and cutshalls criticising research on misleading information and anxiety
interviewed 13 witnesses to a deadly shooting 4 months after the event
what were the findings of yuille and cutshalls criticising research on misleading information and anxiety
witnesses resisted misleading information and those closest to the shooter produced the most accurate EWT
what do yuille and cutshalls findings suggest about misleading information and axiety
misleading information and anxiety may not be a significant problem for real world EWT
what are the strengths of factors affecting EWT
research has lead to real life applications such as the development of the cognitive interview
what are the weaknesses of factors affecting EWT
- lab based studies suffer demand characteristics
- researchers have an ethical duty to protect their participants from harm. research such as johnson and scotts breaks ethical guidelines so could be considered unethical
