Legal Psychology
Summary & Lectures
,Problem 1: Eyewitness Testimony
True and False Memories in Forensic Contexts
Blandon-Gitlin et al.
Memory: Constructive and Reconstructive Process
Þ When a person experiences a complex event only acquire pieces of the information from
the environment
o these pieces become part of the building material that gets combined
o these pieces are not enough to form a fully complete representation
Þ Information from other sources is used to form memory:
o information stored in memory (e.g., schemas)
o information from external sources (e.g., other witnesses, interview questions)
o information generated from thinking about the event afterward (e.g., inferences)
Þ Memory constructed of combined fragments
o gist of information in memory is stable, but the verbatim might not be stored or will
fade quickly
Þ Memories are fluid and can change over time
o when witnesses think about an event or answer interview questions, the event is
reconstructed (retrieval)
if something they recall does not fit with the current story; this piece will be
removed & new information will be integrated to make sense of the event
this makes memory fundamentally different from the original event
o degree of reliability depend on different factors that operate at the time of the event &
afterwards
Memory for Traumatic Events
Þ Most likely to be recalled & accuracy can be more reliable than everyday memories
o involve similar basic cognitive processes of construction and reconstruction
o are malleable, prone to distortion, affected by the processes of forgetting
Misinformation Effects and False Memories
Þ Misinformation can fundamentally alter an original memory
Þ False memories
o schema-consistency (e.g., airplane crash involves fires)
o strong suggestive conditions (e.g., misleading questions, speculation)
Þ “Rich” false memories - detailed, great deal of emotion, confidently held
o only occur under specific highly suggestive conditions
Þ Distorting a memory remains easier than planting or erasing a memory
o difficult to discriminate between true and false memories
Factors in Memory Distortion & False Memories
1. Post-Event Information - information encountered after an event can influence
memories
o external information can easily integrate into a witness’s memory, especially if:
event was poorly encoded
memory representation is from a distant event
o it will be integrated as a part of the original experience, especially when the new
information fits the witnesses’ thinking
2
, reduced information available in memory to verify the validity of post-event
misinformation
this process can be explicit (e.g., witness knows what is happening) but often
unconscious
overtime, the witness may not know the source of information that led to the
(new) memory
Þ Sources of misinformation
o co-witness influence - when witnesses hearing each other’s testimony or discuss
them
can sometimes strengthen the memory trace (+)
can contaminate memories, especially if original memory is weak (-)
o memory conformity - when witnesses’ memories become similar over time
people who know each other are more likely to report information from their co-
witness as if it was their own
social media is a breeding ground for misinformation
o questioning witnesses - method of questioning a witness affects the accuracy and
completeness of reports and subsequent memory for the events
subtle changes in words (e.g., bumped versus smashed) => schema-consistency
schema-consistent false memories apply to peripheral and central details
schema-consistent effect can be induced by framing questions
repetition of the same question can cause the witness to keep trying to remember
until they produce the “correct memory”
forced confabulation effect - forcing someone to remember details they
maybe do not even remember
people can develop false memories of details in response to the repeated
questions
o visuals (e.g., photographs, videos)
can trigger memories which are unavailable via conscious recollection (+)
even visuals that do not depict the target event but have some relation to it
visuals with other suggestive techniques can contribute to the creation of false
memories of entire events (-)
visual invariable elicit in witnesses a mental representation that could
suggestively shape their memory of the actual event
2. Retention Interval - the longer the interval between an event and the time, the more
likely the account will have significant distortions
o due to the natural process of forgetting
core knowledge can remain but events that are not overlearned and rehearsed are
typically forgotten (gist memories)
o recollection context (e.g., whether the event was experienced in child- or adulthood)
for distant events, it is easier to misinform and plant false memories
they are less vivid, less detailed, and less accessible
recollection process: less information available to make judgements of the validity
of the misinformation/false information => impairing ability to reject suggested
event
3. Imagination/Visualisation
3
, o imagination inflation – person’s confidence that the imagined event occurred will be
amplified by simple imagining the event itself
imagine non-experienced events may lead to false beliefs
repeatedly visualising, thinking, and speculating about an event can lead to
detailed imagery that enhances false beliefs
false beliefs are the basics for developing false memories
one of the most important factors in memory distortion
4. Event Plausibility - type of prior knowledge the witness has about suggested events
o having general knowledge about how an event occurs and possessing schema-relevant
information in memory => makes it more plausible to implant information about the
occurrence of such an event
what is plausible to particular individuals depends on their knowledge base
o manipulations that suggests to witnesses that an event occurred will increase the false
beliefs that it occurred
o imagination increases the likelihood of developing a false memory that is believed to
be plausible
5. Inconsistency Within and Across Interviews; accuracy or reliability of detail depends
on:
o nature of the inconsistency: contradiction, addition or deletion
o type of detail: core versus peripheral
o how the detail was elicited: same versus different interview or question type
o categories of inconsistences
1. direct contradictions - conflicting responses; different details reported at Time 1
versus Time 2
least accurate or reliable as memory for the detail tends to be poor
less likely to occur for central details of an event
2. reminisce - more recall; new detail reported at Time 2 but not reported at Time 1
3. omissions - forgetting; detail reported at Time 1 but not reported at Time 2
Cognitive Processes in Memory Errors and False Memories
Þ Source Memory Errors - when people search events in memory, a memory trace is
created
o source memory judgement - how people decide whether a memory representation is
of an experienced event or the product of thinking
errors in this type of judgement occur when people become confused about the
source of information
confusion is more likely to occur when the memory representation of a
false/imagined event has the characteristics of true memories (vivid, detailed)
one of the important cognitive mechanisms that explain why distorted and false
memories occur and why people believed them to be real
Þ Gist and Verbatim Memory Traces
o fuzzy-trace theory - there are two memory traces:
verbatim (detailed actual) memory (seeing the person yell)
gist memory is the basic story the witness tells themselves (he hates me) or the
witness’s beliefs about what happened (he is negative because…)
memory primarily a gist memory with less sensory details
gist memory contains less detail than the verbatim experience
4
Summary & Lectures
,Problem 1: Eyewitness Testimony
True and False Memories in Forensic Contexts
Blandon-Gitlin et al.
Memory: Constructive and Reconstructive Process
Þ When a person experiences a complex event only acquire pieces of the information from
the environment
o these pieces become part of the building material that gets combined
o these pieces are not enough to form a fully complete representation
Þ Information from other sources is used to form memory:
o information stored in memory (e.g., schemas)
o information from external sources (e.g., other witnesses, interview questions)
o information generated from thinking about the event afterward (e.g., inferences)
Þ Memory constructed of combined fragments
o gist of information in memory is stable, but the verbatim might not be stored or will
fade quickly
Þ Memories are fluid and can change over time
o when witnesses think about an event or answer interview questions, the event is
reconstructed (retrieval)
if something they recall does not fit with the current story; this piece will be
removed & new information will be integrated to make sense of the event
this makes memory fundamentally different from the original event
o degree of reliability depend on different factors that operate at the time of the event &
afterwards
Memory for Traumatic Events
Þ Most likely to be recalled & accuracy can be more reliable than everyday memories
o involve similar basic cognitive processes of construction and reconstruction
o are malleable, prone to distortion, affected by the processes of forgetting
Misinformation Effects and False Memories
Þ Misinformation can fundamentally alter an original memory
Þ False memories
o schema-consistency (e.g., airplane crash involves fires)
o strong suggestive conditions (e.g., misleading questions, speculation)
Þ “Rich” false memories - detailed, great deal of emotion, confidently held
o only occur under specific highly suggestive conditions
Þ Distorting a memory remains easier than planting or erasing a memory
o difficult to discriminate between true and false memories
Factors in Memory Distortion & False Memories
1. Post-Event Information - information encountered after an event can influence
memories
o external information can easily integrate into a witness’s memory, especially if:
event was poorly encoded
memory representation is from a distant event
o it will be integrated as a part of the original experience, especially when the new
information fits the witnesses’ thinking
2
, reduced information available in memory to verify the validity of post-event
misinformation
this process can be explicit (e.g., witness knows what is happening) but often
unconscious
overtime, the witness may not know the source of information that led to the
(new) memory
Þ Sources of misinformation
o co-witness influence - when witnesses hearing each other’s testimony or discuss
them
can sometimes strengthen the memory trace (+)
can contaminate memories, especially if original memory is weak (-)
o memory conformity - when witnesses’ memories become similar over time
people who know each other are more likely to report information from their co-
witness as if it was their own
social media is a breeding ground for misinformation
o questioning witnesses - method of questioning a witness affects the accuracy and
completeness of reports and subsequent memory for the events
subtle changes in words (e.g., bumped versus smashed) => schema-consistency
schema-consistent false memories apply to peripheral and central details
schema-consistent effect can be induced by framing questions
repetition of the same question can cause the witness to keep trying to remember
until they produce the “correct memory”
forced confabulation effect - forcing someone to remember details they
maybe do not even remember
people can develop false memories of details in response to the repeated
questions
o visuals (e.g., photographs, videos)
can trigger memories which are unavailable via conscious recollection (+)
even visuals that do not depict the target event but have some relation to it
visuals with other suggestive techniques can contribute to the creation of false
memories of entire events (-)
visual invariable elicit in witnesses a mental representation that could
suggestively shape their memory of the actual event
2. Retention Interval - the longer the interval between an event and the time, the more
likely the account will have significant distortions
o due to the natural process of forgetting
core knowledge can remain but events that are not overlearned and rehearsed are
typically forgotten (gist memories)
o recollection context (e.g., whether the event was experienced in child- or adulthood)
for distant events, it is easier to misinform and plant false memories
they are less vivid, less detailed, and less accessible
recollection process: less information available to make judgements of the validity
of the misinformation/false information => impairing ability to reject suggested
event
3. Imagination/Visualisation
3
, o imagination inflation – person’s confidence that the imagined event occurred will be
amplified by simple imagining the event itself
imagine non-experienced events may lead to false beliefs
repeatedly visualising, thinking, and speculating about an event can lead to
detailed imagery that enhances false beliefs
false beliefs are the basics for developing false memories
one of the most important factors in memory distortion
4. Event Plausibility - type of prior knowledge the witness has about suggested events
o having general knowledge about how an event occurs and possessing schema-relevant
information in memory => makes it more plausible to implant information about the
occurrence of such an event
what is plausible to particular individuals depends on their knowledge base
o manipulations that suggests to witnesses that an event occurred will increase the false
beliefs that it occurred
o imagination increases the likelihood of developing a false memory that is believed to
be plausible
5. Inconsistency Within and Across Interviews; accuracy or reliability of detail depends
on:
o nature of the inconsistency: contradiction, addition or deletion
o type of detail: core versus peripheral
o how the detail was elicited: same versus different interview or question type
o categories of inconsistences
1. direct contradictions - conflicting responses; different details reported at Time 1
versus Time 2
least accurate or reliable as memory for the detail tends to be poor
less likely to occur for central details of an event
2. reminisce - more recall; new detail reported at Time 2 but not reported at Time 1
3. omissions - forgetting; detail reported at Time 1 but not reported at Time 2
Cognitive Processes in Memory Errors and False Memories
Þ Source Memory Errors - when people search events in memory, a memory trace is
created
o source memory judgement - how people decide whether a memory representation is
of an experienced event or the product of thinking
errors in this type of judgement occur when people become confused about the
source of information
confusion is more likely to occur when the memory representation of a
false/imagined event has the characteristics of true memories (vivid, detailed)
one of the important cognitive mechanisms that explain why distorted and false
memories occur and why people believed them to be real
Þ Gist and Verbatim Memory Traces
o fuzzy-trace theory - there are two memory traces:
verbatim (detailed actual) memory (seeing the person yell)
gist memory is the basic story the witness tells themselves (he hates me) or the
witness’s beliefs about what happened (he is negative because…)
memory primarily a gist memory with less sensory details
gist memory contains less detail than the verbatim experience
4
