factors effecting the accuracy of eyewitness testimony

• who argued that memory was a reconstructive process

  bartlett
• what is ewt


  the evidence provided in court by a person who witnessed a crime, with a view to identifying the perpetrator of the crime
• what can affect ewt

  misleading information and anxiety
• what are the two types of misleading information


  leading questions and post-event discussion
• who investigated leading questions

  loftus and palmer
• what did loftus and palmer conclude

  words used in interview questions activate pre-existing schemas which alter the actual memory for an event and confabulation does occur
• what is confabulation


  a disturbance of memory
• what did yuille and cutshall find

  misleading information may not affect real-life memories to the same extent as laboratory-produced memories due to the emotions experienced at the time
• what is a flashbulb memory

  a highly detailed, exceptionally vivid ‘snapshot’ of the moment and circumstances in which a piece of surprising and consequential (or emotionally arousing) news was heard
• what is the conformity effect


  co-witnesses may reach a consensus view of what actually happened
• who investigated post event discussion

  gabbert et al
• what did gabbert et al find


  a very high number of witnesses who had discussed the event went on to mistakenly recall items acquired during the discussion
• what is repeat interviewing

  each time an eye witness is interviewed there is the chance that comments from the interviewer will become incorporated into their recollection of events
• what is the support for misleading information

  loftus and palmer
• what are the counters of misleading information

  mundane realism and ecological validity
• what is the alternative to misleading information

  post event discussion
• what are the practical applications of misleading information

  investigations
• what are the positive effects of anxiety on ewt

  anxiety creates more enduring and accurate memories. there is an evolutionary argument which suggests it would be adaptive to remember events that are emotionally important to you so you can identify similar situations and recall how to respond
• who investigated the positive effects of anxiety on ewt

  christianson and hubinette
• what did christianson and hubinette find

  the witnesses who were the most anxious had the best recall
• who investigated the negative effects of anxiety on ewt

  johnson and scott
• what did johnson and scott find

  paticipants may not have been focussed on the appearance of the person and rather the fact that they had a weapon in the second condition
• what is the weapons focus effect

  a witness to a crime diverting their attention to the weapon the perpetrator is holding, thus leaving less attention for other details in the scene and leading to memory impairments later for those other details
• who proposed that the reduced accuracy of identification due to the weapon focus effect could be due to surprise rather than anxiety

  pickel
• what did deffenbacher do


  suggested that moderate anxiety can improve recall
• what is the yerkes-dodson law

  there is an optimal level of stress for cognitive performance
• what is the support for anxiety


  yerkes and dodson
• what is the counter for anxiety

  too simplistic
• what is the alternative for anxiety


  leading questions or post event discussion
• what is the practical application for anxiety

  investigations
• what are the issues and debates of anxiety

  ethics