factors affecting eyewitness testimony

Question 1

what is eyewitness testimony?

Answer 1

evidence provided by those recalling an event where they were present
used in court cases for evidence

Question 2

why is research into eyewitness testimony vital?

Answer 2

it is very influential in helping judges decide verdicts, but in 75% of cases where DNA proved a person was wrongly convicted, the original guilty verdict was based off of an eyewitness testimony

Question 3

what is the influence of schemas?

Answer 3

-bartlett 1932 - memories aren’t ‘snapshots’ of events, but are reconstructions influenced by our schemas (expectations based on previous experiences, knowledge etc)
-schemas ‘fill in the gaps’ and simplify processing

Question 4

research on schemas

Answer 4

-bartlett 1932 - when western ppl were told a navajo indian story, it didn’t make sense from their cultural viewpoint, so their memory of the story became distorted

Question 5

what are the two factors that affect accuracy of eyewitness testemoney?

Answer 5

-misleading information
-anxiety

Question 5

what is misleading information?

Answer 5

-info that suggests a desired response
-2 forms: leading questions and post-event discussion

Question 6

what are leading questions?

Answer 6

questions that prompt/encourage a required response

Question 7

what is post-event discussion?

Answer 7

info added to a memory after the event has occured

Question 8

what was loftus and Palmer’s research on misleading info in 1974?

Answer 8

-2 experiments
-1 - 45 uni students shown 7 videos of car crashes, after had to write what they saw, key question was speed of the car, verb changed (‘crashed’ ‘hit’ ‘collided’)
-2- 150 p’s watched car crash, 50 asked speed question w/ ‘smashed’, 50 w/ ‘hit’, 50 weren’t asked at all, questioned again one week later about if they saw broken glass
-showed misleading info can affect memory recall
-lab experiment, artificial task, real car crash witness would have an emotional impact
-results could be due to demand characteristics, giving the answer they thought the researcher wanted

Question 9

evaluate misleading information

Answer 9

-consequences of inaccurate memories are minimal in research settings compared to real life (foster et al 1994 showed EWT was more accurate for real crimes)
-p’s don’t expect to be deliberately mislead, so inaccurate recall could be bcs they believe researchers are telling truth
-misleading info only affects unimportant aspects (important events aren’t easily distorted)
-ethical concerns of distressing stimuli, also use deceit
-should advertisers be able to use techniques that deliberately try to create false memories?

Question 10

how does anxiety affect EWT?

Answer 10

anxiety can divert attention away from important aspects of an event

Question 11

what is the ‘weapons effect’?

Answer 11

-loftus et al
-witnesses focus on the weapon being used rather than the culprits face

Question 12

what is the inverted-u hypothesis?

Answer 12

-deffenbacher
-sees moderate amounts of anxiety as improving detail and accuracy of recall up to optimal point, but any further anxiety decreases accuracy

Question 13

how does repression relate to anxiety?

Answer 13

-freud
-anxiety can hinder recall, forgetting can be motivated by traumatic content, so access is barred to prevent emotional distress

Question 14

research on anxiety

Answer 14

-deffenbacher 1983 - meta-analysis of 21 studies on anxiety, finding heightened anxiety had a negative effect
-christianson + hubinette 1993 studied real bank robbery witnesses, finding increased anxiety led to better recall

Question 15

evaluate anxiety

Answer 15

-much research is lab based, lacks mundane realism
-care must be taken to prevent psychological harm
-other factors can have an effect, eg age
-deffenbacher 2004 - meta-analysis of 63 studies, finding EWT levels gradually increased until extremely high levels of anxiety, where there was a catastrophic drop, negatively effecting recall, supporting an amended version of the IUH called catastrophe theory