Accuracy of eyewitness testimony: Misleading information

Question 1

What is eyewitness testimony?

Answer 1

Eyewitness testimony is the account given by people who have witnessed an event, used as evidence in legal proceedings.

Question 2

True or False: Eyewitness testimony is always reliable.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

What is misleading information?

Answer 3

Misleading information refers to information that is inaccurate or distorted, which can affect memory recall.

Question 4

Fill in the blank: The study by Loftus and Palmer (1974) investigated the effects of _____ on memory.

Answer 4

misleading questions

Question 5

What was the main finding of Loftus and Palmer’s study?

Answer 5

The wording of questions can significantly alter a witness’s memory of an event.

Question 6

What is the misinformation effect?

Answer 6

The misinformation effect occurs when a person’s memory of an event is altered by misleading information presented after the event.

Question 7

Which type of question is more likely to lead to inaccurate eyewitness recall?

Answer 7

Leading questions

Question 8

True or False: The confidence of an eyewitness is a good predictor of accuracy.

Answer 8

False

Question 9

What is the role of post-event information in eyewitness testimony?

Answer 9

Post-event information can distort a witness’s memory and lead to inaccuracies.

Question 10

What does the term ‘source confusion’ refer to?

Answer 10

Source confusion refers to the inability to correctly identify the source of a memory, leading to inaccuracies.

Question 11

Fill in the blank: The _____ hypothesis suggests that memory is reconstructive rather than reproductive.

Answer 11

reconstructive

Question 12

What impact does stress have on eyewitness memory?

Answer 12

High stress can impair memory accuracy and recall.

Question 13

True or False: Older adults are less susceptible to misleading information.

Answer 13

False

Question 14

What is the cognitive interview technique?

Answer 14

The cognitive interview technique is a method used to enhance the recall of witnesses by using various strategies to improve memory retrieval.

Question 15

List one advantage of using a cognitive interview.

Answer 15

It can lead to more accurate and detailed eyewitness accounts.

Question 16

What is the effect of repeated questioning on eyewitness testimony?

Answer 16

Repeated questioning can lead to memory contamination and increased inaccuracies.

Question 17

True or False: All eyewitnesses remember events in the same way.

Answer 17

False

Question 18

What is the purpose of using filler questions in interviews?

Answer 18

Filler questions are used to reduce the pressure on the witness and encourage more natural recall.

Question 19

What is the ‘weapon focus’ effect?

Answer 19

The weapon focus effect refers to the tendency of witnesses to concentrate on a weapon during a crime, impairing their ability to recall other details.

Question 20

Fill in the blank: _____ refers to the phenomenon where a witness’s memory is influenced by the information provided by others.

Answer 20

Social contagion

Question 21

What are leading questions?

Answer 21

Leading questions are questions that suggest a particular answer or contain information that may influence the response.

Question 22

What is the role of schemas in memory recall?

Answer 22

Schemas are mental frameworks that help organize and interpret information, but they can also lead to distortions in memory.

Question 23

True or False: Eyewitnesses are generally accurate in their identification of suspects.

Answer 23

False

Question 24

What is the relationship between attention and memory accuracy?

Answer 24

Higher levels of attention during an event typically lead to better memory accuracy.

Question 25

What does the term 'retrieval failure' mean?

Answer 25

Retrieval failure refers to the inability to access stored information, often due to a lack of retrieval cues.

Question 26

What was the main conclusion of the study by Gabbert et al. (2003)?

Answer 26

Witnesses who discussed an event after it occurred were more likely to incorporate incorrect information into their memories.

Question 27

Fill in the blank: The _____ effect occurs when misleading information alters the memory of an event.

Answer 27

misinformation

Question 28

What is the significance of the 'lost in the mall' technique?

Answer 28

It demonstrates how false memories can be created through suggestion.

Question 29

True or False: Children are more reliable eyewitnesses than adults.

Answer 29

False

Question 30

What is the effect of time delay on memory recall?

Answer 30

A longer time delay between the event and recall can lead to increased inaccuracies in memory.

Question 31

What is the purpose of a lineup in eyewitness identification?

Answer 31

A lineup is used to help witnesses identify a suspect from a group of individuals.

Question 32

What is the 'own-race bias'?

Answer 32

The own-race bias is the tendency for people to be better at recognizing faces of their own race compared to those of other races.

Question 33

Fill in the blank: _____ refers to the process of recalling memories in a way that reflects one's beliefs and expectations.

Answer 33

Memory reconstruction

Question 34

What is the role of feedback in eyewitness testimony?

Answer 34

Feedback provided after an identification can influence a witness's confidence and memory accuracy.

Question 35

True or False: The presence of a weapon can enhance memory accuracy for other details.

Answer 35

False

Question 36

What does 'context reinstatement' involve?

Answer 36

Context reinstatement involves recreating the environment in which an event occurred to aid in memory recall.

Question 37

What is the significance of the 'California study' in terms of eyewitness testimony?

Answer 37

It highlighted the issues of eyewitness misidentification in wrongful convictions.

Question 38

Fill in the blank: The _____ approach to eyewitness testimony emphasizes the need for unbiased questioning.

Answer 38

cognitive

Question 39

What are the implications of misleading information for the criminal justice system?

Answer 39

Misleading information can lead to wrongful convictions and undermine the reliability of eyewitness testimony.

Question 40

True or False: Memory is a perfect recording of events.

Answer 40

False

Question 41

What is the difference between recall and recognition?

Answer 41

Recall involves retrieving information without cues, while recognition involves identifying information with cues.

Question 42

What factors can affect the accuracy of eyewitness testimony?

Answer 42

Factors include stress, leading questions, memory distortion, and the passage of time.

Question 43

Fill in the blank: The _____ principle states that memory is best when the context at encoding matches the context at retrieval.

Answer 43

encoding specificity

Question 44

What is the impact of suggestive interviewing techniques on witnesses?

Answer 44

Suggestive interviewing techniques can lead to the creation of false memories and inaccuracies in recall.

Question 45

True or False: Witnesses are often confident in their incorrect identifications.

Answer 45

True

Question 46

What is the 'feedback effect' in eyewitness testimony?

Answer 46

The feedback effect occurs when witnesses receive affirming feedback, which can increase their confidence in incorrect identifications.

Question 47

What is a 'showup' in eyewitness identification?

Answer 47

A showup is a procedure in which a single suspect is presented to a witness for identification.

Question 48

Fill in the blank: _____ memory refers to the recollection of specific events or experiences.

Answer 48

Episodic

Question 49

What is the role of emotion in eyewitness testimony?

Answer 49

Strong emotions can both enhance and impair memory accuracy.

Question 50

What does the term 'memory conformity' mean?

Answer 50

Memory conformity occurs when a witness's recall is influenced by the recollections of others.

Question 51

True or False: All witnesses perceive events in the same way.

Answer 51

False

Question 52

What is the significance of the 'Yerkes-Dodson law' in relation to eyewitness memory?

Answer 52

The Yerkes-Dodson law suggests that there is an optimal level of arousal for memory performance, with too much or too little arousal impairing recall.

Question 53

What is 'contextual information'?

Answer 53

Contextual information refers to the surrounding details and circumstances that can aid in memory recall.

Question 54

Fill in the blank: The _____ effect describes how people are less accurate in identifying perpetrators of crimes when they are under stress.

Answer 54

stress

Question 55

What is the 'misinformation paradigm'?

Answer 55

The misinformation paradigm is a research method used to study how misleading information affects memory recall.

Question 56

True or False: Eyewitness testimonies are often the most reliable form of evidence in court.

Answer 56

False

Question 57

What can be done to improve the accuracy of eyewitness testimonies?

Answer 57

Using proper interviewing techniques, minimizing suggestive questioning, and implementing cognitive interviews can improve accuracy.

Question 58

What is the impact of group discussion on eyewitness memory?

Answer 58

Group discussion can lead to memory conformity and the incorporation of inaccurate details.

Question 59

Fill in the blank: _____ is a technique used to enhance the accuracy of eyewitness recall by allowing witnesses to describe events freely.

Answer 59

Free recall

Question 60

What is the significance of the 'Wells and Olson' study?

Answer 60

It highlighted the impact of lineup procedures and the reliability of eyewitness identifications.

Question 61

True or False: Suggestive questioning has no effect on memory recall.

Answer 61

False

Question 62

What is 'false memory'?

Answer 62

False memory refers to the recollection of events that did not actually occur or were distorted in memory.

Question 63

What does the term 'encoding' refer to in memory processes?

Answer 63

Encoding is the process of transforming information into a format that can be stored in memory.

Question 64

Fill in the blank: _____ refers to the ability to access information stored in memory.

Answer 64

Retrieval

Question 65

What is the importance of proper lineup construction?

Answer 65

Proper lineup construction minimizes the risk of misidentification and enhances the accuracy of eyewitness testimony.

Question 66

True or False: Witnesses are often able to accurately remember the details of a crime scene immediately after the event.

Answer 66

True

Question 67

What is the 'confidence-accuracy relationship'?

Answer 67

The confidence-accuracy relationship refers to the correlation between a witness's confidence in their testimony and the actual accuracy of that testimony.

Question 68

What is the effect of misleading post-event information on memory?

Answer 68

It can distort the original memory and lead to inaccuracies in recall.

Question 69

Fill in the blank: _____ refers to the process of making sense of information after it has been encoded.

Answer 69

Consolidation

Question 70

What is the role of distraction in eyewitness testimony?

Answer 70

Distraction can impair memory encoding and retrieval, leading to lower accuracy in recall.

Question 71

True or False: Memory is a static and unchanging record of events.

Answer 71

False

Question 72

What is the significance of the 'Elizabeth Loftus' research?

Answer 72

Loftus's research has been pivotal in understanding how memory can be influenced by external factors, particularly in the context of eyewitness testimony.

Question 73

What does the term 'recall bias' refer to?

Answer 73

Recall bias refers to the tendency for people to remember events in a way that is influenced by their beliefs or expectations.

Question 74

Fill in the blank: _____ refers to the process by which memories are strengthened over time.

Answer 74

Memory consolidation

Question 75

What is the impact of suggestive language on eyewitness testimony?

Answer 75

Suggestive language can lead to the creation of false memories and alter the accuracy of recall.

Question 76

True or False: Eyewitness testimony can be influenced by the media.

Answer 76

True

Question 77

What is the importance of training for law enforcement in conducting interviews with witnesses?

Answer 77

Training can help minimize the effects of suggestive questioning and improve the accuracy of eyewitness testimony.