AO1

• Eyewitness testimony is when observers of events are asked to recall from memory details of what they have seen
• Leading questions are questions that imply a particular answer, and can influence how a memory is recalled. This could be due to an actual change in memory (substitution bias explanation) or due to the witness feeling emotional pressure to give a particular response (response bias explanation
• Post event discussion can also alter the memory, as one witness recalling events may alter the accuracy of the recall of another witness who heard their recall due to memory conformity, where witnesses go along with the accounts of others for social approval.
• Leading questions - Loftus and Palmer (1974)

  • Aim to investigate the effect of leading questions on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony.
  • Their sample consisted of 45 American students, who were divided into five groups of nine. All of the participants watched a video of a car crash and were then asked a specific question about the speed of the cars. Loftus and Palmer manipulated the verb used in the question, for example: “How fast were they cars going when they smashed / collided / bumped / hit / contacted with each other?
• Loftus and Palmer (1974)

  • They found that the estimated speed was affected by the verb used. The more extreme the verb, the faster the participants would estimate that the car had been going. For example, participants who were given the verb smashed reported an average speed of 40.5 mph, where participants who were given the word contacted reported an average speed of 31.8 mph, an overall difference of 8.7 mph.
  • The results clearly show that the accuracy of eyewitness testimony is affected by leading questions and that a single word in a question can affect the accuracy of our judgements.