Reconstructing Memories

Question 1

Fallibility

Answer 1

Liability to be inaccurate or false.

Question 2

Eyewitness testimony

Answer 2

An account of an event given by an individual who was present, based on their memory of the event. Many studies that show there is much error in eye witness testimony. Eye witness testimony has a large impact on a jury, and can lead to wrongful conviction.

Question 3

Misinformation effect

Answer 3

A phenomenon in which the memory an individual has of an event can be changed through exposure to incorrect information after the event.

Question 4

Presupposition

Answer 4

A preconceived notion or idea that tends to be a feature of leading questions and may influence the thoughts of an individual.

Question 5

Source confusion

Answer 5

A phenomenon in which actual memories are combined with suggestions received from others.

Question 6

Leading question

Answer 6

A question that prompts an individual to answer in a particular way. Courts, Teachers and Parents use leading questions.

Question 7

Reconstructive nature of memory

Answer 7

Memory is fallible
• Memory is subject to personal interpretation it is dependent on a range of
factors including cultural norms, emotions and values.
• People store information in the way that makes the most sense to them

Question 8

Eyewitness testimony often fails

Answer 8

When recalling the event, you are not recalling the original event, but your latest reconstruction of it. When asked to describe an event the witness will build on their own expectations, created by similar experiences from the past, from stories in books, film and on television, or even their own feelings at the time.

Question 9

Example of leading and non leading question

Answer 9

> ‘Did you see the defendant running from the scene of the crime?’ suggests that the
defendant was at the scene.
‘Did you see anyone running from the scene of the crime?’ does not identify any
individual.

Question 10

Loftus eyewitness testimony and information

Answer 10

Loftus’ research demonstrated that memorynis fallible. This means that it is susceptible to error. Memories can be reconstructed or changed to incorporate or leave out information. An example of memory reconstruction:

A memory of an event is encoded and stored in LTM. When that memory is retrieved misinformation can be incorporated and the new reconstructed memory is remembered as real.

Question 11

Example of loftus

Answer 11

An eyewitness to a vehicle accident gives a statement on an accident between a blue and orange cars. The eyewitness is asked a leading question ‘was the yellow car speeding’. The witness will respond yes or no but because the memory is in working memory, it can be reconstructed to include the false information that the car was yellow. The reconstructed memory is stored in LTM. In future the eyewitness may falsely retrieve the information that the car was yellow.