role of misleading information in eyewitness testimony Flashcards
what’s an eyewitness
someone who has seen/witnessed a crime
-usually present at the time of the incident
what’s an eyewitness testiomny
the evidence provided in court by a person who witnessed a crime
who conducted key research into misleading questions
Loftus and Palmer
in loftus and palmers first experiment, what was the aim
to investigate effect of leading questions on accuracy of EWT
in loftus and palmers first experiment, what was their sample
45 American students divided into 5 groups of 9
in loftus and palmers first experiment, what was the procedure
-all watched a video of a car crash that was the same speed
-asked a specific question about the speed of the cars and manipulated the verb
two examples of questions in loftus and palmers first experiment
How fast were the cars going when they:
1. smashed each other?
2. contacted each other?
what was the results of the verb “smashed” in loftus and palmers first experiment
average speed estimated at 40.8mph
what was the results of the verb “contacted” in loftus and palmers first experiment
average speed of 31.8mph
why was smashed a higher estimated speed in loftus and palmers first experiment
-has connotations of higher speeds
-distorted memory due to schema that is associated with smashed
what’s a leading question
-a question by either form or content suggests a desired answer or leads a witness to believe a desired answer
what was loftus and palmers second experiment
broken glass
in loftus and palmers second experiment, what was the sample size
150 student participants
-split into 3 groups of 50 in each group
procedure of loftus and palmers second experiment
-asked questions about the speed of the cars
-control group asked nothing about the speed
-groups returned a week later and were asked a critical question
what was the critical question in loftus and palmers second experiment
did u see any broken glass? (even though there wasn’t any)
what were the results in loftus and palmers second experiment
-32% who interviewed w verb smashed reported broken glass
-14% who interviewed w verb hit reported broken glass
-12% control group reported broken glass
what is post event discussion (PED)
a subtype of misleading info including talking with others and being interviewed multiple times
what is the conformity effect (PED)
-co-witnesses may reach a consensus view of what actually happened if their recollection of the event was similar
-memory of the event is altered/contaminated through discussion
experiment to prove conformity effect (PED)
-Gabbert et al
-ppts in pairs, watched diff video of same event
-encouraged to discuss before recall
-71% went on to mistakenly recall items acquired during discussion
what is repeat interviewing (PED)
-each time eyewitness is interviewed, possibility that comments from interviewer will become incorporated into recollection of events
-this may alter/contaminate memory
-interviewer may ask leading questions
what is the research supporting repeat interviewing (PED)
-larooy et al- children especially susceptible to repeat interviewing when questioned about crime
