Eyewitness testimony

• Eyewitness testimony refers to the account given by people of an event they have witnessed. It is a crucial part of the legal system, used as evidence.
• The misinformation effect is where post-event information alters the participants recall of the original event. This suggests memory of an event can be distorted by misleading information.
• Loftus and Palmer (1974) supported the idea of the misinformation effect, showing that changing the wording of a question can affect one's recall.
• Anxiety can both hinder or enhance the accuracy of eyewitness testimony. The Yerkes-Dodson law proposes an optimal level of arousal for performance.
• The 'weapon focus' effect is where witnesses mainly focus on the weapon, resulting in reduced recall of other details.
• The cognitive interview has been developed to improve eyewitness account's accuracy. This involves reinstating context, report everything, change order and change perspective. These aim to reduce the effect of misleading post-event information and anxiety.