EWT

• Memory is reconstructive because the original perception of the event is retrieved through the use of schemas
• Memories can be altered during post-event discussion
• Leading Question are questions that suggest a desired answer
• Post-Event Discussion is information given after the event with potential to influence memory
• Gabbert et.al. (2003) investigated post-event discussion by asking pairs of participants who saw two perspectives of the same crime to discuss the video, and then individually complete a recall test
• Gabbert et.al found that 71% of participants recalled things they didn't see, whereas there was 0 false recall in the control group with no post-event discussion
• Gabbert et.al (2003) had questionable external validity because participants may have been showing demand characteristics (paying more attention because they were in an experiment)
• Gabbert et.al (2003) had high poulation validity as they tested both uni students and older adults and found little difference
• Gabbert et.al (2003) has high applications in law and EWT
• Loftus & Palmer (1974) investigated leading questions by making 45 student participants watch a short film showing a car crash, and were then asked what speed the cars were moving at with differently worded questions (e.g smashed, bumped, contacted)
• Loftus & Palmer found that the mean estimate of speed for "Smashed" was 40.8mph whereas the mean for "contacted" was 31.8mph
• Response-bias factors suggest that the leading questions may influence the participants answer but doesn't actually lead to a false memory of the event
• Tunnel Theory states that anxiety narrows the focus of our attention such that we are drawn to the more central aspects
• Johnson & Scott (1976) carried out the Weapon Focus study to investigate Tunnel Theory of memory
• In Johnson & Scott's experiment: group 1 heard an arguement and then a man walked past with a greasy pen, group 2 heard smashing glass and then a man walked past holding a bloody knife
• Johnson & Scott found that in recall, participants in group 1 were 49% accurate whereas group 2 were 33% accurate
• Yuille & Cutshall (1986) investigated Tunnel Theory by interviewing real-life witnesses of a shooting in Canada 4-5 months after and comparing them with the original police interviews
• Yuille & Cutshall found that the most accurate recall correlated to higher anxiety levels
• Yerkes-Dodson Law shows that accuracy peaks at medium arousal
• Yerkes-Dodson law ignores the fact that there are many elements to anxiety as it focuses on physical arousal, and does not recognise individual differences
• The Cognitive Interview is a questioning technique used by police to enhance retrieval of information from the eyewitness's and victim's memory
• The Cognitive Interview was developed by Geiselman et.al (1985)
• The Cognitive Interview consists of: Mental Reinstatement, Different Perspectives, Different Order, In depth
• Mental Reinstatement is where the interviewer attempts to recreate the environment and personal context by using all 5 senses
• Different Perspectives is where witnesses/victim are asked to report the incident indifferently by describing what others may have seen
• Different Order is where witnesses/victim are asked to recount events in a different narrative order, supported by the recency effect
• In Depth is where the witnesses/victim are asked to report every minor detail as it may trigger other memories
• The Cognitive Interview is useful for elderly people as it encourages them to speak more freely due to the conceptions about their memory
• The cognitive interview is rarely used by police officers as it takes a lot of time and training takes time and money