Misleading infomation

• Misleading information:

  incorrect information given to a witness after an event
• Leading questions:

  how the wording of a question may lead or mislead to give a certain answer
• Loftus and Palmer:

  • 45 participants
  • watched a clip of a car accident
  • asked a question
  • each question had a different verb about the impact
  • e.g (smashed, collided, contacted)
  • highest speed guessed = smashed (mean of 40.5 mph)
  • lowest speed guessed = contacted (mean = 31.8 mph)
• 2 reasons that leading questions influence EWT:

  Response bias = wording of questions doesn’t influence memory but it influences how we answer

  Substitution = the wording alters and changes someones memory
• Research on post-event discussion:

  • Gabbert
  • placed in Pairs
  • watched a video of the same crime from different points of view
  • one could see details the others couldn’t
  • participants then discussed before completing an individual recall test
  • 
    
  • Findings: 71% of participants recalled aspects they saw in the video
  • in the control group there was 0% inaccuracy
  • shows influence happens through discussion
• 2 reasons why post-event discussion effects EWT:

  • memory contamination = discussion leads to testimony being altered. They combine with their memories
  • memory conformity = witnesses go along with each other to win NSI + ISI but the memory stays unchanged
• Strength of misleading info: Real-world application

  • Has important uses in the criminal justice system.
  • If an EWT is wrong there are very serious consequences,
  • Police officers now have to be careful about the questions they ask
  • Psychologists are asked to be expert witnesses in trials
  • Explain the limits of EWT
• Limitation of misleading information: Against substitution:

  
  

  • Sutherland and Hayne
  • asked participants misleading questions following a video
  • accuracy for central details were higher than peripheral details
  • attention was focused on central details
  • weakens the substitution explanation because the memory was not changes or altered
• Limitation of misleading information: Evidence against memory conformity:

  • Skagerberg and Wright
  • Showed their participants film clips
  • In on the muggers hair was dark brown, in the other it was light brown
  • After discussion they often reported a mix ( medium brown)
  • Shows memory is distorted through contamination rather than the result of memory conformity