Memory- Eye witness testimony Flashcards
What is a leading question ?
A question that may imply a particular answer and can influence how a memory is recalled
What is post event discussion ?
When the recall of events by one witness alters the accuracy of another witnesses recollection
Outline and explain what the study done by Loftus and Palmer shows about misleading information
They showed 45 participants the same clip of a traffic accident and after watching asked them all the following leading question. “How fast were the cars going when they ___ into each other” The missing verb was changed to smashed, hit, bumped, collided or contacted. It was found that the more extreme the verb the faster the estimation of MPH .This shows the effects of misleading questions inn everyday life and increases ecological validity
What is anxiety ?
A mental state of arousal that includes feelings of extreme concern and tension. This is often accompanied by physiological changes such as an increased heart rate
What is the weapon affect/ focus ?
Where high levels of anxiety produce a reduced recall of a criminals face. Weapons can be the cause of this and mean that witnesses often focus on the weapon instead of the criminals face as they are distracted.
What is the Yerks-dodson law of arousal ?
EWT accuracy actually increases as anxiety raises and the witness becomes alert. However at a point anxiety becomes too high and stress/distraction results in lower accuracy.
Outline and explain what the study done by Johnson and Scott shows about weapon focus
Naive participants were placed outside a lab listening to other of two conversations. 1- normal conversation about equipment failure and man walks out with greasy hands and a pen. 2- Hostile, breaking glass and man walk out with a knife covered in blood. Ppts then asked to identify the man out of 50 photos, more ppts identified man with pen (49%) then man with knife (33%) showing anxiety caused by knife decreases focus on criminal
What is one disadvantage of lab studies like Loftus and Palmer on the effects of EWT ?
There are no consequences suggesting that ppts face no real reprocusions if they make the wrong recall. They are also done in a lab instead of a courtroom and when under oath people could provide a more accurate EWT as they know it could lead to conviction. Demand characteristics
Who came up with using the cognitive interview for improving validity of EWT ?
Fisher and Geiselman
What is the first step of the cognitive interview ?
Context reinstatement. Asking ppt to mentally return to the scene of the crime
What is the second step of the cognitive interview ?
Report everything, even if details seem irrelevant
What is the third step of the cognitive interview ?
Recall from a changed perspective, put yourself in the place of another person at the scene
What is the final step of the cognitive interview ?
Recall events in reverse order, this is done to challenge schema. Changing chronology
What are some of the disadvantages of the cognitive interview ?
Time consuming, costly as need to train interviewers, cannot be used on young children only in adults
