Studies: Forensic Psych Flashcards
(44 cards)
Aim of Rosenthal and Jacobson
To investigate if teacher expectations could influence children’s intellectual ability
Procedure of Rosenthal and Jacobson
Procedure -
gave elementary students an IQ test
the informed their teachers which children were going to be ‘average’ and which were going to be ‘bloomers’
then came back and conducted another IQ test on the children
Results of Rosenthal and Jacobson
Results -
teachers treated the two groups differently
gave ‘bloomers’ more attention and detailed feed back
children labeled as ‘bloomers’ showed an increase in IQ score that was significantly greater than the ‘average’ group
Conclusion of Rosenthal and Jacobson
Conclusion -
the teachers expectations worked as a ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’
the expectations altered the way the children were treated and thus their academic/intellectual ability
expectations were internalised and become a part of their self-concept and beliefs about themselves
Aim of Loftus and Palmer (study 1)
To show that leading questions distort eyewitness testimonies
Participants of Loftus and Palmer (study 1)
45 American students
opportunity sample
independent groups design
Procedure of Loftus and Palmer
Procedure -
all shown video recording of a car accident
Split into 5 groups
Given a questionnaire about accident
critical question —
‘how fast was the cars going when they ______?’
hit
smashed
collided
contacted
bumped
Results of Loftus and Palmer
Results -
smashed mean estimate score = 40.5 mph
contacted mean estimate score = 32mph
Evaluation of Loftus and Palmer (study 1)
Response bias —
participants may only be responding to the Q’s demands rather than having their memories changed
Participants of Loftus and Palmer (study 2)
-150 American students
Procedure of Loftus and Palmer (study 2)
Procedure -
all shown video of car accident
split into 3 groups
Given a questionnaire about accident
critical question —
‘how fast was the cars going when they ______?’
hit
smashed
no verb
then, came back 2 weeks later
given another questionnaire
critical question:
‘did you see any broken glass?’
(there was no broken glass)
Results of Loftus and Palmer Study 2
Results -
smashed = 32% said yes
hit = 14% said yes
Conclusion of Loftus and Palmer Study 2
leading questions and post event information can influence EWT by forcing the witness to accommodate their schema of the event
responses not due to response bias alone
Evaluation of Loftus and Palmer (Study 2)
Evaluation -
V - high due it being a lab experiment (high control over EVs)
low ecological validity as a video recording of a accident was used rather than a real crime (reduced stress & trauma)
A - high as it highlights the issues with eyewitness testimonies and how leading Qs should be avoided when interviewing witnesses
use cognitive interviews rather than police interviews
Aim of Yuille & Cutshal Study
To examine the effect of leading questions of eye witness accounts of a real event
(as opposed to the numerous lab studies of videoed/ staged events)
Paricipants of Yuile & Cutshal
21 witnesses of a gun-shooting incidence
13/21 agreed to be interviews
10 m, 3 f
ages - 15 - 32
Procedure of Yuile & Cutshal
-21 witnesses interviewed by police immediately after the event.
-13 of those agreed to take part in a research interview 4-5 months later
- In both sets of interviews, the eye witnesses were asked to give their account and then follow up questions were asked.
- The researchers asked 2 misleading questions
- Half the group were asked if they saw A broken headlight and the other half were asked if they saw THE broken headlight. There was no broken headlight.
- Half of the group were asked if they saw A yellow panel on the car and the other half were asked if they saw THE yellow panel. The panel was in fact blue.
- The witnesses were then asked to rate their degree of stress of a scale of 1-7. They were also asked if they had any emotional problems since the event.
reports of other professionals attending the scene
each detail was awarded 1 point
Results of Yuile and Cutshal Study
Results -
number of details recalled
police interview = 649.5
research interview = 1056.5
Conclusion of Yuile & Cutshal Study
misleading Qs had no effect
amount of incorrect info recalled was considerably lower than lab research reported
Aim of Valentine T & Mesout J
To investigate if high stress can decrease a witnesses ability to identify a perpetrator
and recall information about the event
Participants of Valentine T & Mesout J
56 participants
27 m, 29 f
opportunity sample
Procedure of Valentine T & Mesout J
base heart rate was measured before and during tour
participants given tour around London Dungeon
at one point a man in a scary mask and costume jumped out
after tour
given questionnaire — measure state anxiety
given 20 likert scale — measure trait anxiety
reported on the facial features/ gave description of perpetrator
asked to identify perpetrator from a 9 person line up
(all had similar feature, makeup and dress)
asked to rate the confidence of their identification
Results of Valentine T & Mesout J
-strong - correlation between state correlation between state anxiety and accuracy of description
-only 17% of those above the mean state anxiety score correctly identified the perpetrator
-75% of those below the mean state anxiety score correctly identified the perpetrator
Conclusion of Valentine T & Mesout J
higher levels of anxiety impair eyewitness memory and ability to correctly identify a perpetrator