Post-event discussion

• Why post-event discussion effects EWTs

  memory contamination:

  • discussion with others who also witnessed crime leads to combination of misinformation from them
  • this leads to the memory of the event being altered or distorted

  memory conformity:

  • witnesses will go along with each other for approval or the belief that other witnesses were right
  • actual memory is unchanged but EWT is affected
• Gabbert et al. study: Aim

  to investigate the effect of post-event discussion on eyewitness testimonies
• Gabbert et al. study: Method

  • participants were put into pairs
  • each pair individually watched a recording of a crime, but from a different perspective from the other
  • participants then gave an EWT
  • the pair then discussed the event and then gave another EWT individually
• Gabbert et al. study: Findings

  71% of participants recalled inaccurate aspects of the event they did not see in their recording after discussion

  before discussion, this number was 0%
• Gabbert et al. study: Conclusion

  Post-event discussion affects EWTs due to memory conformity