EWT: Misleading Information

• The dependability of eyewitnesses is based on what they can remember about an event. This can be impacted by misleading information and anxiety.
• Eyewitness Testimony - Account of an event someone has witnesses. For example, a description of a robbery at trial.
• Misleading information - incorrect information given to an eyewitness usually after the event, which can distort what people remember about an event.
• Leading questions are questions that are phrased in a such a way that they impy a specific answer.
• Loftus and Palmer - Mean Speed Estimate

  • Smashed 40.5
  • Collided 39.3
  • Bumped 38.1
  • Hit 34.0
  • Contacted 31.8
• Loftus and Palmer results show clearly that the accuracy of eyewitness testimony is affectedd by leading questions and that a single word in a qusetion can significantly affect our judgement.
• Loftus and Palmer aimed to investigate the effect of leading questions on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony.
• Loftus and Palmer used 45 american students in their study.
• Loftus and Palmer asked all participants to watch a video of a car crash and asked a for an estimate of how fast the car was going - manipulating the verb each time.
• Loftus and Palmer - Results clearly show that the accuracy of eyewitness tesitmony is affected by leading questions
• Leading questions affect us due to response bias and substitution bias
• Response bias - The question affects our answer, but leaves the memory in tact.
• Subsitution bias - the question alters our memory - "Did you see any broken glass?"
• Post Event Discussion - When there is more than one witness to an event, and these discuss what they have seen with each other, or with other people.
• There are two explainations for the affects of PED: Memory contamination and memory conformity.
• Gabbert et al aimed to investigate the effect of post event discussion on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony.
• Gabbert got each participant to watch a video of the same crime, but from different perspectives. 71% of participants mistakenly recalled events they could not see (PED)
• PED reduces the accuracy of EWT due to memory contamination and conformity.
• Memory Contamination - Memories become altered or distorted because they combine information from other witnesses with their own memories
• Memory conformity - Witnesses go along with each other to win social approval or because they think the others are right.
• Memory conformity - Witnesses go along with each other to win social approval or because they think the others are right.