A study by Loftus and Palmer (1974) into the accuracy of Eye Witness Testimony aimed to find out if changing the wording of a question could distort ones ability to recall from memory an event.
The accuracy of Eye Witness Testimony has been tested by many different approaches in psychological research of memory. A study by Loftus and Palmer (1974) into the accuracy of Eye Witness Testimony aimed to find out if changing the wording of a question could distort one's ability to recall from memory an event. They showed their participants a series of car crash videos before asking them to fill out a questionnaire. One of the most important questions included asking the participants what speed the cars were travelling at. They used an independent measures design to divide the participants into 5 conditions: 'Smashed', 'Collided', 'Bumped', 'Hit', 'Contacted'. The results from this experiment provide good research into accuracy of eyewitness testimony because it found that by changing the wording of a question, it significantly influenced the speeds given by the participants. For example, those in the 'smashed' condition provided the highest average of speed of 40.8mph, whilst those in the 'contacted' condition's average were merely 31.8mph. Similarly, when called back a week later and asked if any broken glass was seen, they found that although there wasn't any present, 32% in the 'smashed' condition said they had seen broken glass. Loftus and Palmer therefore concluded that by using the word 'smash' it gives suggestions of strong impact and thus shows that leading
Is eyewitness testimony reliable?
Psychology Key Issue - Is eyewitness testimony reliable? Eyewitness testimony refers to the statement given by a witness to an event/crime. It is important because in some cases, no forensic evidence can be traced. Also, jury members may lack the ability or confidence to interpret complex forensic evidence. Jury members tend to prefer and rely on eyewitness testimony. Therefore, eye witness testimony is vital source of evidence in a court of law. This is an issue has an inaccurate eyewitness testimony can lead to the conviction of an innocent man. Eyewitness testimony can be unreliable due to interference, social prejudice, false reconstruction of the memory, along with many other factors. Eyewitnesses might have lapses in their memory of the event, and they will try to fill in those 'empty spaces' with they believe/expect to happen. For example, during a bank robbery they might describe the thieves as wearing black clothing, balaclavas with guns. This might not be accurate as the witness might not have been paying attention to the clothing but might have felt obliged to give a detailed description when alter questioned by the police officer. The descriptions might have evolved from social prejudice, from watching scenes on the TV etc. As most crimes include some sort of violence, this can cause eyewitness unreliability. Clifford and Hollin (1981) concluded that violence
To what extent does research support the view that eyewitness testimony is unreliable?
To what extent does research support the view that eyewitness testimony is unreliable? Schemas are knowledge packages which are built up through experience of the world and which enable us to make sense of familiar situations and aid the interpretation of new information. Cohen(1993) suggested a few different ways that schemas might lead to reconstructive memory, some are that we tend to ignore aspects of a scene that do not fit the currently activated schema and also we can store the central features of an even without having to store the exact details. Bartlett (1932) carried out a study of reconstructive memory. The aim was to investigate the effects of schemas on participants recall. Bartlett found that that the distortions increased over successive recalls and most of these reflected the participant's attempts to make the story more like a story from their own culture. The changes included rationalisations, flattening and sharpening, these changes made the story easier to remember. He concluded that memory was forever being reconstructed because each successive reproduction showed more changes, which contradicted Bartlett's original expectation that the reproductions would eventually become fixed. The research is important, because it provided some of the first evidence that what we remember depends in an important way on out prior knowledge in the form of schemas.
Consider what psychological research has told us about the accuracy of eyewitness testimony.
(c) "Eye witness testimony differs from many other aspects of memory in that accuracy is of much greater importance." Consider what psychological research has told us about the accuracy of eyewitness testimony. (18 marks) L and P = Loftus and Palmer Pps = Participants EWT = Eyewitness testimony Despite the considerable importance juror's place on EWT, psychological research has shown that EWT tends to be unreliable. This unreliability can be explained in terms of the reconstructive nature of memory (schema theory). Introduced by Bartlett (1932), reconstructive memory refers to the extent to which memory is distorted or otherwise modified (reconstructed) by experience. In practice this means that instead of storing an exact replica of the episode they are witnessing, eyewitnesses may combine the initial stimulus with elements of their existing knowledge and experience (or schema) to form a reconstructed memory resulting in an inaccurate EWT account. Reconstruction is not the only source of distortion in EWT as the language used in leading questions and post-event information may further distort reconstructive memory and so lead to memory blending and confabulation. Research that has provided us with an insight into the effects of language and leading questions on the accuracy of EWT includes that of Loftus and her colleagues. For example, L & P (1974) found that
Summary of Eyewitness Testimony and Improving Memory
Summary of Eyewitness Testimony and Improving Memory Eyewitness Testimony Eyewitness Testimony refers to an account given by people of an event they have witnessed. For example they may be required to give a description at a trail of a robbery or a road accident someone has seen. This includes identification of perpetrators, details of the crime scene etc. EWT can be influenced by lots of things, including leading questions, anxiety and age. The Reconstructive Nature of Memory is where we tend to encode only the 'bare bones' of an event. When we then recall information, we unconsciously 'flesh out' these bare bones using common sense and logic. Anxiety - witnessing a crime may make us anxious. Giving evidence as an eyewitness may make us anxious. High levels of anxiety have been found impair our ability to store and retrieve memories. Age - memories and the way that we use them change as we age. These three things influence child's testimony: suggestibility, language ability and memory processes. Cognitive Interview is one way to help people remember something accurately. It is based on two principles: Organisation and Context-dependency. Organisation - the way that memory is organised means that memories can be accessed in various ways. A series of actions can help - first you did this, then you did that and so on until you reach your memory. Context-dependency
What effect does the order in which a testimony is presented have on persuading a jury?
Psychology Revision – Persuading A Jury Q3)a) What effect does the order in which a testimony is presented have on persuading a jury? (10) A3)a) The order in a which testimony is heard can have different effects on the jury’s verdict. One such study that investigates this is Pennington’s study on primacy effects. He studied the theory that because the minds of the jurors and all those present in the courtroom are more awake and interested in the trial’s beginning, than in the end when it is believe that the freshness and interest in the trail will have worn off. Because of the adversarial justice system used in UK courts, the jury have the final verdict of guilt or innocence on the accused. And because, in this system, the prosecution is heard first and the defence last, it can be assumed that the number of guilty verdicts heard under this system is greater than the number of innocent verdicts because the jury pay more attention to the case when the prosecution is heard. In the study conducted, Pennington used a mock jury with a group of participants who heard the prosecution first and the defence last, and another group who heard the defence first and the prosecution last. He measured the amount of guilty verdicts in each and found that there was a greater tendency to find the same defendant guilty in conditions that reflected a real adversarial system. This study
Optics - the human eye and coomon defects
Eye Defects Vision:- The mammalian eye could be regarded as a miracle of evolution. In order to produce an image the eye has to act as an Optical refracting System (to focus a sharp image) and a Photo Detector (to analyse the image and send information to the brain). At the front of the eye is the optical system, made up of the transparent curved Cornea and the adjustable biconvex Lens. The photo detector is the layer of light-sensitive cells at the back of the eye, called the Retina. The amount of light entering the eye is controlled by the Iris. Sharp focusing is achieved by altering the shape of the lens. The shape of the lens is controlled by the ring of ciliary muscle which runs round the outside of the lens. (http://www.riverdeep.net/current/2002/01/012002_images/eye.jpg) Defects in the eye:- . Long Sight (Hypermetropia) In this condition we can see distant objects more clearly that ones that are nearby. This is usually because the cornea is not curved enough, which reduces the angle of refraction, and the lens cannot accommodate sufficiently to bring the diverging rays from near objects into sharp focus on the retina. 2. Short Sight (Myopia) In this condition near objects are clearly seen, but distant objects cannot be brought into the focus. It happens when the cornea is too curved; the light from distant objects is refracted too much and comes to a focus in
Loftus and Palmer APFCC
Loftus and Palmer aimed to investigate whether the language used when interviewing an eye witness about an event can act as a leading question and therefore distort the reconstruction of the event in the memory system. They were interested in factors that can influence the accuracy of eye witness testimony, making it unreliable. Allport and Postman demonstrated how schemas already set in the memory system can affect the reconstruction of an event. Participants were shown a slide of a white man attacking a black man with a razor, and were told to report the scene to the second person, who then had to report it to the third and so on. The scene became distorted over time, and over 50% who received the final description had the razor in the hands of the black man. It seems that participants 'prejudice' schemas (blacks more violent than whites) cause them to distort the way they constructed and stored the information in memory. The study shows that we reconstruct our memory based on schemas already stored. Eye witness testimony is important to the judicial system, as witness accounts can often influence the outcome of a jury. It is well reported that people are often inaccurate at remembering faces, weapons and numerical data such as speed and time. It is therefore evident that there are a number of variables that can affect eye witness testimony, such as the way in which a
Outline & Evaluate the Cognitive Interview
Outline & Evaluate the Cognitive Interview The cognitive interview was devised by psychologists in order to eliminate the effects of misleading questions and misleading information. The process consists of first reporting everything the witness can remember, even information they believe to be unimportant. Then the witness is asked to mentally instate their experience, where they mentally use their sense to recall information. After this the witness is asked to change the order in which they recall the event, for example going backwards, and finally the witness is asked to change the perspective from which they recall the data, telling the officer the situation from above or as an onlooker. Fisher and Geiselman found that reporting everything and mental reinstatement check for consistency of the eyewitness report, and changing the order and perspective helps to create a different route to recall, increasing the amount of information. The cognitive interview has strong supporting research; Kohnken et al for example, reviewed research into eyewitness testimony and found that the cognitive interview increased the amount of correct information recalled by 48%, compared to the standard interview. Also, Stein & Memon found that the cognitive interview is effective because people remember more when given cues. They made Brazilian female cleaners watch a video of an abduction, and
Outline and compare the cognitive and behaviourist approach in psychology
Outline and compare the cognitive and behaviourist approach in psychology (12 marks) This essay will outline and compare the cognitive and behaviourist approach to psychology. It will refer to various therapies and practical uses of each approach. I will also refer to the case study of Kohler. I will then outline the similarities and conclude with the differences. The behaviourist approach is deterministic as it argues all behaviours are determined by past events and that all human behaviour is controlled by external events which means that humans do not have freewill. It supports empiricism and argues that only behaviour that can be observed, measured and recorded should be classed as scientific. It also supports reductionism as complex human behaviour is reduced to simple component parts. Environmentalism is another assumption of the behaviourist approach as behaviourists believe that all learning comes from experience and that heredity has no play. The cognitive approach believes that mental process can be studied scientifically. It argues that mental processes can be regarded as information processing. The mind operates in a similar way to a computer and introspection can be classed as a valid scientific method of studying cognitive process. The aspects of the organism including conscious and unconscious thought act as a meditational process between stimulus and
