factors affecting accuracy of ewt

• Eyewitness testimony


  Evidence given in court by someone who witnessed an event
• Eyewitness testimony could result in convictions
• Misleading information


  Information that can influence and change a person's memory of an event
• Post-event discussion

  The contamination of eyewitness testimony with another witness's memory, reducing accuracy
• Anxiety

  A mental state of arousal, with biological factors like increased heart rate
• Anxiety


  May affect the accuracy of eyewitness testimony
• Bartlett's theory of memory

  • Memories are not accurate snapshots, but reconstructive
  • Schemas are packages of information used to understand the world
• Misleading information (leading questions)


  Can influence the recall of eyewitness testimony
• Leading questions


  • How fast were the cars traveling when they smashed into each other
  • How fast were the cars traveling when they hit each other
• Leading questions with more extreme verbs


  Result in faster estimated car speeds
• Misleading information (leading questions)

  Can lead to false memories and substitution bias
• Post-event discussion between witnesses

  Leads to memory conformity and changes in recall to match other witnesses
• Weapon focus effect


  Eyewitness is so focused on the weapon that they don't look at the face of the criminal
• Anxiety

  May decrease recall due to distraction and lack of attention
• Anxiety


  May increase recall due to heightened awareness and stronger emotional memory
• Yerkes-Dodson law of arousal

  Suggests an optimal level of anxiety for accurate recall, with very low or very high anxiety reducing accuracy
• Studies on anxiety and eyewitness testimony

  • Johnson and Scott study
  • Peters study
• Some real-world studies found highly accurate eyewitness recall despite high stress
• Cognitive interview


  A technique developed to improve the accuracy of eyewitness testimony
• Lab studies on eyewitness testimony may have low validity due to lack of real-world consequences
• Lab studies may suffer from demand characteristics, with participants guessing the desired response
• Some research on anxiety and eyewitness testimony may be unethical, causing trauma to participants