Memory Accuracy

• What is meant by: Leading questions?

  Leading questions are questions that suggest that a particular answer is correct. They can influence our memory recall, causing us to remember things that didn't really happen.

  
• What is meant by: Post-event discussion?

  Post-event discussion is when people discuss an event after it happened, it can influence how we remember things because other people have their own expectations and interpretations of what happened.

  
• List four factors that can make our memories less accurate

  - leading questions- post-event discussion- anxiety - Schemas
• According to Deffenbecher, the effect of anxiety on memory accuracy follows an...

  inverted U shape
• What is a false memory?

  False memories are memories of things that didn't actually happen.

  
• Which researchers found support for the role of leading questions on memory accuracy?

  Loftus and Palmer (1974)

  
• What are two limitations of Loftus and Palmer's study?

  - suffer demand characteristics

  - Lacked ecological validity (anxiety levels not a factor)
• Which researchers found support for the role of anxiety in decreasing memory accuracy?

  Loftus & Burns (1982)
• Which researchers found evidence indicating that anxiety can increase memory accuracy?

  Yuille and Cultshaw

  
• What is the cognitive interview?

  The cognitive interview is an interview technique developed by Fisher and Geiselman to improve the accuracy of witness memory recall. It consists of four elements.
• What are the four elements of the cognitive interview.

  - Mental reinstatement - change of perspective - change of narrative order - reporting everything.
• What is meant by: Mental reinstatement in the cognitive interview?

  It involves the witness recalling their thoughts, feelings and experiences at the time of the event. This can help the witness to find external and internal cues that can help trigger their memory.

  
• What is meant by: Change of perspective in the cognitive interview?

  It is when witnesses are asked to recall an event from someone else's perspective. This reduces their reliance on their own schema and can stop witnesses from mis-remembering and re-interpreting memories.

  
• What is meant by: Change of narrative order in the cognitive interview?


  Involves witnesses being asked to remember the event in a different chronological order.
• Which researcher found evidence supporting the use of the cognitive interview?

  Geiselman
• What is one limitation of the cognitive interview?

  One limitation of the cognitive interview is that it might be less effective when police officers are interviewing children, as some of the techniques used by the cognitive interview are too complicated to use with children.

  
• What is the enhanced cognitive interview?


  The enhanced cognitive interview was created to be used with children. It involves all of the usual components of the cognitive interview but it also has some additional features that are designed to build a relationship between the witness and the interviewer.
• Describe Geiselman's study investigating the efficacy of the cognitive interview.

  - blue rucksack man stole a projector in a lecture - impact of leading questions within the cognitive interview compared to a standard interview - people who were interviewed with the cognitive inteview were less susceptible to be impacted with the leading question that the rucksack was green.