Misleading Information

Question 1

Eyewitness testimony

Answer 1

A witnesses account of a crime incident they saw that can be used in a court room.

Question 2

The innocence project

Answer 2

Claimed that 72% of cases overturned by DNA involved eyewitness testimony was used that was inaccurate.

Question 3

What are the 3 stages that eyewitness’ memory goes through?

Answer 3

1. Encodes details of event into the long term memory (can be partial or distorted as it may happen quickly).
2. Witness retains information for a period of time (can be lost/modified) - interference between encoding and retrieval.
3. Witness retrieves information (cues may be used)

Question 4

False memories

Answer 4

False events that can be created due to misleading/false information

Question 5

Lotus and palmer study 1

Answer 5

• 45 students watched clips of traffic accidents in a lab
• then answered a questionnaire with all the same questions bar one, the “critical question” where they were asked the speed of the car with a different key word. Smashed (40.8mph), collided, bumped, hit, contacted (31.8mph).
• this shows wording of the question effects recall.

Question 6

Loftus and palmer study 2

Answer 6

• same experiment as above but with new participants
• 1 week later they were asked if they saw any broken glass (there wasn’t any)
  Smashed: 16/50 said yes
  Hit: 7/50 said yes
  • shows leading question and misleading information effects memory.

Question 7

Gabbert (2009) - post event information

Answer 7

The conformity effect. Discussing an event after it has happened alters your memory.
- group 1 watched video about an events
- group 2 watched a different video about the same event
- some participants from each group did immediate recall to researcher
- others were paired up (person from group 1 + person from group 2) to discuss the video they had just seen.
• if discussed, 71% recalled inaccurate information
Real world application: jury service

Question 8

+ Loftus and Palmer supporting study

Answer 8

Conducted an experiment using bugs bunny and Ariel.
- college students were asked to evaluate advertising information for Disneyland.
- embedded in the info for some groups was misleading info about bugs bunny/ Ariel (misleading as bugs isn’t Disney and Ariel wasn’t invented at the time).
- participants were assigned to either Ariel, bugs or control condition group
- all had visited Disney
- those in a character condition were more likely to report shaking hands with this character during their visit.
• demonstrates how misleading information can lead to the creation of false memories.

Question 9

• elderly people Schater (1991) (AO3)

Answer 9

Elderly people are more likely to be unable to remember the source of information even if their memory is unimpaired so are more prone to the effect of misleading information.

Question 10

• lab studies (AO3)

Answer 10

• lots of artificial material used e.g film clips
• a lot less anxiety enduring than real life
• therefore lacks mundane realism

Question 11

• Real life study ~ Yuille and Cutshall (1986)

Answer 11

• interviewed 13 people who witnessed an armed robbery
• interviewed immediately after incident and 4 months later
• statements matched almost entirely
  • suggests that post-event info may not effect memory in real life EWT