Chapter 5

Question 1

What did the Supreme Court rule regarding DNA evidence for convicted offenders?

Answer 1

States are not required to make DNA evidence available to convicted offenders, leaving many wrongly convicted without a way to prove their innocence.

Question 2

What is the leading cause of wrongful convictions?

Answer 2

Eyewitness errors are the leading cause, accounting for 70% of wrongful convictions from mistaken identifications.

Question 3

What is confirmation bias in the context of eyewitness identification?

Answer 3

Confirmation bias leads police to stop investigating once there is a tentative identification.

Question 4

What conditions make mistaken identifications common?

Answer 4

Conditions such as low light, quick events, or brief encounters contribute to mistaken identifications.

Question 5

What is the weapon focus effect?

Answer 5

The weapon focus effect is the failure to notice other stimuli when a gun is present.

Question 6

How does heightened arousal affect memory encoding?

Answer 6

Heightened arousal does not always enhance encoding; extreme stress can lead to incomplete or inaccurate information encoding.

Question 7

What is a significant factor affecting memory loss after a crime?

Answer 7

Memory loss is rapid, and time passing between the crime and police questioning can exacerbate this.

Question 8

How can post-event information affect memory?

Answer 8

Post-event information can alter the memory of the original event.

Question 9

What is unconscious transference?

Answer 9

Unconscious transference is the generation of a memory based on past interactions with a suspect, leading to confusion between innocent and guilty parties.

Question 10

What are system variables in eyewitness accuracy?

Answer 10

System variables refer to how the lineup is conducted.

Question 11

What are estimator variables in eyewitness accuracy?

Answer 11

Estimator variables are factors beyond the control of the justice system, such as lighting conditions at the time of the crime.

Question 12

How does decision-making speed affect eyewitness accuracy?

Answer 12

Witnesses who make decisions more quickly tend to be more accurate than those who take longer.

Question 13

What is a cognitive interview?

Answer 13

Cognitive interviews can generate substantial increases in correct recall but may also produce a small increase in incorrect details.

Question 14

What should be communicated to eyewitnesses during a lineup?

Answer 14

Eyewitnesses should be told that the perpetrator may or may not be present in the lineup.

Question 15

What is relative judgment in eyewitness identification?

Answer 15

Relative judgment occurs when a witness selects whoever looks most like the perpetrator, often used when memory is weak.

Question 16

Why should lineup administrators be blind to the suspect’s identity?

Answer 16

Lineup administrators should be blind to prevent any influence on the eyewitness’s decision.

Question 17

What common misconception exists about eyewitness accuracy?

Answer 17

There is a tendency to overestimate the accuracy of eyewitnesses.

Question 18

What role can expert witnesses play in court regarding eyewitness testimony?

Answer 18

Expert witnesses can provide information to the judge and jury about the psychological evidence related to eyewitness identification.

Question 19

How accurate are children as eyewitnesses?

Answer 19

Children aged 5 can make reasonably reliable identifications from lineups, but they are generally less accurate than adults when the culprit is absent.

Question 20

What is important in investigative interviews with children?

Answer 20

No suggestive questions should be asked, and structured questioning protocols should be used.

Question 21

What is a notable finding regarding the credibility of child witnesses?

Answer 21

Courts are more likely to believe an 8-year-old than a 12-year-old in sex abuse cases.

Question 22

What is a common theme in reports of repressed and recovered memories?

Answer 22

Most reports involve individuals recalling experiences of sexual or physical abuse during childhood after years of repression.

Question 23

What do researchers question about recovered memories?

Answer 23

Researchers often question the validity of memories that resurface years after the alleged incidents, especially after therapy.

Question 24

What can suggest about spontaneously recovered memories?

Answer 24

Memories recovered spontaneously can be more easily corroborated, indicating they may be genuine.

Question 25

Is it possible to implant false memories?

Answer 25

Yes, the implanting of false memories is possible.

Question 27

What are some common causes of wrongful convictions?

Answer 27

Eyewitness misidentification, mistakes in the identification process, and inadequate investigation.

Question 28

How often do eyewitness mistakes contribute to wrongful convictions in the US?

Answer 28

Eyewitnesses implicate 75,000 defendants in the US every year, and mistakes in identification can lead to wrongful convictions.

Question 29

What percentage of exonerations for rapes and robberies involve mistaken eyewitness identifications?

Answer 29

80% of exonerations for rapes and robberies involve mistaken eyewitness identifications.

Question 30

What is confirmation bias in the context of eyewitness identification?

Answer 30

When an eyewitness identifies a suspect, police may stop investigating other leads and focus only on evidence that supports the chosen suspect, reinforcing their initial belief.

Question 31

How does the process of eyewitness identification contribute to wrongful convictions?

Answer 31

Situational conditions (e.g., darkness), implicit pressure to identify a suspect, and the way lineups are presented can lead to inaccurate identifications.

Question 32

What is the 'weapon focus effect'?

Answer 32

The presence of a weapon during a crime can distract attention away from the criminal’s physical features, making eyewitness identification less accurate.

Question 33

What happens during the encoding stage of memory?

Answer 33

If stimuli are briefly seen or heard, they may not be encoded fully, and extreme stress or anxiety can impair accurate encoding of information.

Question 34

What is the misinformation effect?

Answer 34

Post-event information, such as viewing photos of suspects after witnessing a crime, can alter memories and impair the ability to accurately identify the perpetrator.

Question 35

What is unconscious transference?

Answer 35

When an eyewitness mistakenly identifies a person from a lineup whom they have seen before but is not the actual perpetrator, due to prior exposure.

Question 36

How can feedback influence eyewitness confidence?

Answer 36

Post-identification feedback can distort an eyewitness’s confidence in their identification, making them more confident even if their memory is incorrect.

Question 37

What is the difference between a 'standard interview' and a 'cognitive interview' with eyewitnesses?

Answer 37

A standard interview uses unstructured questioning, while a cognitive interview incorporates memory retrieval techniques to enhance accuracy and minimize suggestiveness.

Question 38

How do jurors view eyewitness testimony in court?

Answer 38

Despite limitations on reliability, jurors often place significant weight on eyewitness testimony, which can strongly influence their verdict.

Question 39

What challenges do child witnesses face in legal settings?

Answer 39

Children may experience trauma from testifying in public, and their ability to recall events can be influenced by their age and the nature of the questioning.

Question 40

What is the difference between 'repressed' and 'recovered' memories?

Answer 40

Repressed memories are thought to be unconsciously buried, while recovered memories are those that resurface after a long period, often with the help of therapy.

Question 41

Why is the concept of repressed memories controversial?

Answer 41

It goes against current psychological understanding of memory processes, and repressed memories are often recovered through suggestive therapeutic techniques, which may lead to inaccuracies.

Question 42

What are some ways that false memories can be created?

Answer 42

False memories can be implanted by suggesting fabricated events, such as a childhood experience that never happened, or by using techniques like imagination inflation and source confusion.

Question 43

What is imagination inflation?

Answer 43

When a person imagines an event, they may start to believe it actually happened, leading to the creation of false memories.

Question 44

Why is it easy to create false memories?

Answer 44

Due to the way episodic memory is stored, activating certain 'nodes' or schemas can lead people to remember events that fit those patterns, even if they didn't actually happen.

Question 45

What is the role of suggestibility in the creation of false memories?

Answer 45

People are more susceptible to suggestion, especially when they are uncertain, making them more likely to accept false memories as true.

Question 46

Why is confidence in memory not always reliable in legal contexts?

Answer 46

Confidence in a memory does not correlate with its accuracy, and external influences, such as feedback or pressure, can inflate an eyewitness's confidence without improving the memory’s reliability.

Question 47

Loftus (1974) gave subjects a description of an armed robbery. When presented with only circumstantial evidence, 18 percent convicted the defendant. When an eyewitness’ identification was provided in addition to the circumstantial evidence, what percentage convicted the defendant?

Answer 47

72 percent of the jurors convicted him.

Question 48

Research suggests jurors overestimate eyewitness accuracy because of which of the following?

Answer 48

All of these are correct.

Question 49

Children over the age of five can make reasonably reliable identifications from lineups as long as

Answer 49

the child was exposed to the perpetrator and the perpetrator is in the lineup.

Question 50

The presence of a weapon when witnessing a crime often has an impact on which of the following?

Answer 50

All of these are correct

Question 51

Dayza was the sole witness to a crime. After witnessing the crime, she talked with her husband and her coworkers about what she saw. These discussions potentially can influence her memory of the crime event by which of the following mechanisms?

Answer 51

Introduce post-event information that may alter her memory for the original event.

Question 52

For a White eyewitness to correctly identify a Black culprit, those who provide a cognitive interpretation of the other race effect might suggest that the eyewitness do which of the following?

Answer 52

Focus on encoding the culprit’s skin tone.

Question 53

Maneesh was attacked by a drunken man with a knife. It is possible that the presence of this weapon affected Maneesh’s memory of which of the following?

Answer 53

The perpetrator’s face and what he said

Question 54

According to the Innocence Project, 2015, mistaken identifications account for what percentage of wrongful convictions revealed by DNA tests?

Answer 54

72 percent

Question 55

Six-year-old Ruben is a witness to a crime, and he has been asked to view a lineup. The true perpetrator is not in the lineup. What would researchers predict Ruben would do when compared to an adult performing the same task

Answer 55

Would be more likely to make a false positive error

Question 56

Gregorio is viewing a lineup with simultaneous presentation. He had told police that the person he saw commit the crime is White with light color hair. When presented with six White people in his lineup, he chooses the person who has the lightest color hair in the group. What best characterizes this judgment?

Answer 56

It is a relative judgment.

Question 57

Which of the following is true?

Answer 57

Current evidence suggests that one is more likely to make an accurate identification of a person who shares one’s race.

Question 58

How many states have laws that compensate individuals who were wrongly imprisoned.

Answer 58

None of the above

Question 59

The other race effect refers to the which of the following ideas?

Answer 59

Eyewitnesses are usually better at recognizing and identifying members of their own race or ethnic group than of another race or ethnic group.

Question 60

The time that passes between the commission of a crime and the police questioning of eyewitnesses is called which of the following?

Answer 60

Retention interval

Question 61

How is encoding impacted during an extremely stressful situation?

Answer 61

often incomplete