Memory: Factors Effecting The Accuracy Of Eyewitness Testimony 2024 - 2025 Flashcards
What are 2 factors affecting eyewitness testimony?
- Misleading information
- Anxiety
What are 2 examples of “misleading information”?
- Leading questions
- Post-event discussion
Leading questions is an example of what factor affecting EWT?
Misleading information
Post-event discussion is an example of what factor affecting EWT?
Misleading information
What is a ‘leading question’
A question that wrongly implies something about an event
“A question which wrongly implies something about an event” is referring to…
Leading questions
Who investigated the effect of leading questions on the accuracy of EWT?
Loftus + Palmer
Loftus + Palmer investigated which factor affecting the accuracy of EWT?
Leading questions
What method did Loftus + Palmer use to study leading questions?
Lab experiment
What was the aim of Loftus + Palmer’s experiment?
To investigate how the phrasing of a question can affect participants memory of an event
Name all of the verbs used in Loftus + Palmers experiment
Smashed
Hit
Collided
Bumped
Contacted
How many verbs were used in Loftus + Palmers experiment?
5
Which of the following was NOT a verb used in Loftus and Palmers experiment?
Collided, slammed, bumped, contacted, smashed
Slammed
Which verb produced the highest mean speed in Loftus + Palmer’s research?
Smashed
What was the mean speed estimate when the verb was smashed in Loftus + Palmer’s research?
40.5 mph
What was the mean speed estimate when the verb used was contacted in Loftus and Palmer’s research?
31.8 mph
What was the IV of Loftus + Palmers experiment?
The verb used in the critical question
What was the DV in Loftus + Palmers experiment?
The participants speed estimates in mph
AO3: Loftus + Palmer used a lab experiment. Name one STRENGTH of using a lab experimental method.
High control over extraneous variables - high in internal validity
OR
Uses standardised instructions, which can be repeated - high in reliability
AO3: Loftus + Palmer showed participants a video of a car crash - how could this be criticised? Why is this a problem?
Lacks mundane realism - artificial task of watching video of car crash unlike real life - low in external validity
What two ways does post-event discussion affect accuracy of EWT?
- Memory contamination
- Memory conformity
Memory contamination is where co-witnesses memory of an event is altered because they __________ information from other witnesses
Combine
What explanation of conformity would explain a witness going along with another witness’ version of events to be liked?
Normative social influence
What explanation of conformity would explain a witness going along with another witness because they believe the other is right?
Informational social influence
In what 2 ways can memory conformity influence EWT?
Witnesses change recall to be liked (NSI)
AND
Witnesses change recall to be right (ISI)
Who found that anxiety has a negative effect on accuracy of EWT?
Johnson + Scott
Who found that anxiety has a positive effect on the accuracy of EWT?
Christianson + Hubinette
A theory to explain the differences between Johnson + Scott and Christianson + Hubinette’s research is…
The Yerkes Dodson Law
This proposes that anxiety and the accuracy of EWT is not a simple relationship
The Yerkes Dodson Law
Research such as Johnson & Scott can be criticised on ethical issues because …
it provokes anxiety which could cause psychological harm
How can Christianson + Hubinette’s research be criticised?
They interviewed participants (4-15) months after the bank robbery and so post-event discussion may have taken place
The Yerkes Dodson Law suggests that if you have too little levels of anxiety…
Accuracy of EWT will be poor
How does the Yerkes Dodson Law suggests too much anxiety will affect accuracy of EWT?
Negatively - poor accuracy of EWT
What does the following graph suggest about having anxiety and task performance (EWT)
There is an optimum level of anxiety which will increase accuracy of EWT
Johnson + Scott conducted their research in an artificial environment - true or false?
True - it was a lab experiment
In the ‘low anxiety’ condition of Johnson + Scott, a man walked out of the room with paint on his hands carrying a pen - true or false
False - it was grease
In the ‘low anxiety’ condition of Johnson + Scott’s research, what did the man carry?
A pen (with grease on his hands)
In the ‘high anxiety’ condition of Johnson + Scott’s research, what did the man walk out carrying?
A knife (with blood on his hands)
What was the DV in Johnson + Scott’s research?
Whether the participants could correctly identify the man from 50 images
What % of accuracy was found for the low anxiety condition in Johnson + Scott’s research?
49 %
What % of accuracy was found for the high anxiety condition in Johnson + Scott’s research?
33 %
Christianson + Hubinette conducted a lab experiment - true or false
False
In Christianson + Hubinette’s research, what had happened to those who experienced “high anxiety” in the bank robbery?
They had been directly threatened
In Christianson + Hubinette’s research, who were classed as having “low anxiety” during the bank robbery?
Bystanders / customers
Christianson + Hubinette found that anxiety…
Increases the accuracy of EWT
What was the IV in Johnson + Scott’s research?
High or low anxiety condition
Johnson + Scott used a lab experiment method.
What are 2 limitations of using this method?
Increased chance of demand characteristics - participants are aware they are taking part in a study and so may change their behaviour - reducing the internal validity
OR
Low ecological validity - research takes place in artificial setting, meaning it is harder to generalise to real life settings
Name 2 factors affecting the accuracy of EWT
Misleading information
AND
Post event discussion
Why might it be difficult to generalise the results from Loftus and Palmer’s study?
The research uses an artificial task of watching a video of a car crash
Due to using a video of a car accident which type of validity is lowered in Loftus and Palmer’s study
External validity
How might the findings from Loftus and Palmer’s study differ if it was a real accident?
Witnesses may have had heightened emotions e.g. high anxiety which could lower the accuracy of EWT.
How has the research into the effects of leading questions led to the improvements to the criminal justice system?
The cognitive interview avoids the use of leading questions and uses open questions, such as “recall everything about the event” to trigger as many details about the event as possible
Why is the research into the effects of leading questions an important part of applied psychology?
Improvements in the criminal justice system and the development of the cognitive interview. The cognitive interview avoids the use of leading questions and uses open questions, such as “recall everything about the event” to trigger as many details about the event as possible
What did Skagerberg and Wrights show their eye-witnesses?
Two versions of a film clip of a mugging
How did the two versions of the film clip from Skagerberg and Wrights research differ?
One in which a mugger’s hair was dark brown and in the other the mugger’s hair was light brown.
What Skagerberg and Wrights research into PED affecting the accuracy of EWT find?
It was found that often they did not report what they had heard from their co-witness, but rather it was a ‘blend’ of the two suggesting the mugger had ‘medium brown hair’ rather than dark or light.
How did post event discussion affect the accuracy of the eye-witnesses account?
They did not report what they had heard from their co-witness, but rather it was a ‘blend’ of the two suggesting the mugger had ‘medium brown hair’ rather than dark or light.
What type of validity does Skagerberg and Wrights research on PED increase?
Internal
Skagerberg and Wrights study was conducted in a lab experiment, why might this be a problem?
This makes it difficult to generalise the findings to real life situations BECAUSE in real life post event discussion may not affect the accuracy of EWT there are consequences for witnesses reporting misinformation to the police or a court of law and so their testimony may be less influenced by post event discussion as they are more motivated to give an accurate testimony.
