SECTION: Eyewitness Testimony – Misleading Information
TOPIC: Memory
SUMMARY OF KEY IDEAS (K/U)
1. EWT = an account given by a person of an event they have witnessed, used in the criminal justice system to convict.
BUT misidentification in EWT is the greatest cause of incorrect conviction in the USA. EWT can be negatively
influenced by either misleading information or anxiety levels:
MISLEADING INFORMATION: information that can ‘lead’ to a particular response, as opposed to an accurate response.
1. Post Event Discussion
Information shared after the event and collected by a witness can combine different accounts creating false
memories. Source-monitoring error = when an individual is unable to understand where various information
came from so they may incorrectly associate memories with the wrong source.
Research: Gabbert – Participants were in pairs and each shown a video of a crime, each pair was shown a different angle
than the others. Afterwards, they all discussed what they saw. Then the pairs were all asked to recall only what they saw
from their angle… 71% gave information they hadn’t seen but only heard about from others.
This shows how memory can become contaminated, the influence of others is known as memory conformity.
2. Leading Questions
someone can indicate a desired answer/response from the way a question is asked or phrased. Memory can
become easily distorted and inaccurately recalled due reconstruction of memory.
Research: Loftus + Palmer - To test if language used towards eye witnessing in interviews can alter their memory.
Experiment 1 – 45 students (divided into 5 groups) were all showed the same 7 films of a traffic accident. They were all
asked what speed was the car going when it ‘smashed/collided/hit/bumped/contacted’ into each other?
Researchers found the more violent the verb the faster the average speed.
Smashed = 40.5mph (highest) Contacted = 31.8mph (lowest)
Experiment 2 – 150 all shown a 1-minute clip of a traffic incident (crash.) 50 students asked the question using ‘hit’ and 50
were asked using ‘smashed’ and 50 were not asked anything as a control group.
1 week later they were all asked if they saw broken glass on the floor (there wasn’t any.)
Those who were asked with ‘smashed’ recalled broken glass than the control group and the ‘hit’ group.
PEEL STRENGTH PEEL WEAKNESS
Practical Application – M.I. research has lead to the Lack External Validity – participants lack motivation/drive
understanding that EWT cannot always be relied on due to to stick to their account, they may be open to changing
inaccuracy, the criminal justice system have created new their memory as the study has low value to real life.
techniques such and structured and cognitive interviews in Therefore, research may be internally valid but unable to
attempt to improve conviction accuracy. be generalised in other real life settings.
PEEL WEAKNESS In another study 13 witnesses to a real armed robbery
were interviewed again after their initial statement, they
Lacks Mundane Realism – artificial scenarios and videos were asked 2 leading questions – not one witness was
creates lower levels of stress/anxiety arousal. Participants influenced and all original statements were the same.
cannot relate to certain situations and other evidence
shows emotional arousal is key to recall, therefore it This shows in real life accuracy is increased, lab studies
cannot be applied to real life. are too artificial.
PEEL STRENGTH
Lab studies – most research is scientific therefore the cause and effect can be identified, all procedures are
standardised and holds wider reliability through meta - analysis.
TOPIC: Memory
SUMMARY OF KEY IDEAS (K/U)
1. EWT = an account given by a person of an event they have witnessed, used in the criminal justice system to convict.
BUT misidentification in EWT is the greatest cause of incorrect conviction in the USA. EWT can be negatively
influenced by either misleading information or anxiety levels:
MISLEADING INFORMATION: information that can ‘lead’ to a particular response, as opposed to an accurate response.
1. Post Event Discussion
Information shared after the event and collected by a witness can combine different accounts creating false
memories. Source-monitoring error = when an individual is unable to understand where various information
came from so they may incorrectly associate memories with the wrong source.
Research: Gabbert – Participants were in pairs and each shown a video of a crime, each pair was shown a different angle
than the others. Afterwards, they all discussed what they saw. Then the pairs were all asked to recall only what they saw
from their angle… 71% gave information they hadn’t seen but only heard about from others.
This shows how memory can become contaminated, the influence of others is known as memory conformity.
2. Leading Questions
someone can indicate a desired answer/response from the way a question is asked or phrased. Memory can
become easily distorted and inaccurately recalled due reconstruction of memory.
Research: Loftus + Palmer - To test if language used towards eye witnessing in interviews can alter their memory.
Experiment 1 – 45 students (divided into 5 groups) were all showed the same 7 films of a traffic accident. They were all
asked what speed was the car going when it ‘smashed/collided/hit/bumped/contacted’ into each other?
Researchers found the more violent the verb the faster the average speed.
Smashed = 40.5mph (highest) Contacted = 31.8mph (lowest)
Experiment 2 – 150 all shown a 1-minute clip of a traffic incident (crash.) 50 students asked the question using ‘hit’ and 50
were asked using ‘smashed’ and 50 were not asked anything as a control group.
1 week later they were all asked if they saw broken glass on the floor (there wasn’t any.)
Those who were asked with ‘smashed’ recalled broken glass than the control group and the ‘hit’ group.
PEEL STRENGTH PEEL WEAKNESS
Practical Application – M.I. research has lead to the Lack External Validity – participants lack motivation/drive
understanding that EWT cannot always be relied on due to to stick to their account, they may be open to changing
inaccuracy, the criminal justice system have created new their memory as the study has low value to real life.
techniques such and structured and cognitive interviews in Therefore, research may be internally valid but unable to
attempt to improve conviction accuracy. be generalised in other real life settings.
PEEL WEAKNESS In another study 13 witnesses to a real armed robbery
were interviewed again after their initial statement, they
Lacks Mundane Realism – artificial scenarios and videos were asked 2 leading questions – not one witness was
creates lower levels of stress/anxiety arousal. Participants influenced and all original statements were the same.
cannot relate to certain situations and other evidence
shows emotional arousal is key to recall, therefore it This shows in real life accuracy is increased, lab studies
cannot be applied to real life. are too artificial.
PEEL STRENGTH
Lab studies – most research is scientific therefore the cause and effect can be identified, all procedures are
standardised and holds wider reliability through meta - analysis.
