EWT: misleading information

• eye witness testimony: information is given by witnesses of crimes who were there at the time, which is used to convict people in court
• the effect of misleading information

  • loftus and palmer study where participants were shown a car crash video
  • pps were asked the question how fast were they travelling when they ____ replacing the verb with bumped, hit, smashed, collided, contacted
  • 'Smashed' group estimated higher speeds (10 mph faster) than 'contacted' group
  • the leading question biased the eyewitness' recall of an event
• why do leading questions affect EWT?

  • Response bias explanation: Wording of question influences how participants decide to answer, not actual memory
• • Leading question with 'smashed' encourages higher speed estimates
  • Loftus and Palmer's second experiment supports substitution explanation
  • Substitution explanation: Wording of question changes participants' memory of event
  • Participants who heard 'smashed' more likely to report seeing broken glass (which wasn't there) than those who heard 'hit'
  • Critical verb alters memory of incident
• misleading information: incorrect details provided to an eyewitness post-event, through means like leading questions or discussions among co-witnesses, affecting memory accuracy.
• post event discussion: Witnesses sharing what they saw with each other or others, impacting the accuracy of their recall.
• gabbert et al studied participants in pairs

  • Participants watched a crime video from different viewpoints and each saw a unique details (title of a book)
  • They discussed what they saw with another participant and then individually recalled the event.
  • 71% falsely recalled details picked up during discussion and control group showed 0%
  • this was evidence of memory conformity
• why does post event discussion affect EWT?

  memory contamination and memory conformity
• memory contamination

  • Eyewitness testimonies may be altered or distorted when co-witnesses discuss a crime.
  • Misinformation from others combines with their own memories.
  • Results in distorted recollections.
• memory conformity

  • Witnesses go along with each other's accounts.
  • gabbert et al concluded that reasons include seeking social approval or believing others are correct.
  • Actual memory remains unchanged.
• P - one strength of research into misleading information is that it has important practical uses in the criminal justice system

  E - Loftus highlights how leading questions distort memory, risking wrongful convictions. They advocate for careful questioning techniques by law enforcement during eyewitness interviews.

  E - Psychologists serve as expert witnesses, informing juries about EWT limitations, improving legal accuracy.

  L - By enhancing legal fairness, psychologists ensure accurate justice, safeguarding everyone's rights.
• counterpoint pt 1

  P - however, the practical applications of EWT may be affected by issues with research

  E - Studies like Loftus and Palmer's, conducted in controlled lab settings with film clips, may not fully capture the stress of actual events.
• counterpoint pt 2

  E - foster et al point out that what eyewitnesses remember has important consequences on the real world but participants responses don't matter in the same way which leads to less motivation to be accurate

  L - These criticisms suggest researchers like Loftus might be overly pessimistic about the impact of misleading information on EWT, emphasizing the need for caution when applying lab findings to practical situations.
• memory conformity pt 1

  P - one limitation of the memory conformity explanation is evidence that post-event discussion actually alters EWT

  E - Skagerberg and Wright's study had participants view different versions of film clips and discuss them. Post-discussion responses often 'blended' elements from both versions, indicating contamination by discussion.
• memory conformity pt 2

  E - For example, participants frequently provided responses like "medium brown" for the mugger's hair color, not seen in either version.

  L - this suggests that the memory itself is distorted through contamination by misleading post-event discussion, rather than the result of memory conformity