Seeing-witness
'Seeing' In this course work I will be writing about the Film 'Witness'. This film is about the Amish community and how they interact with the outer life. The film focuses on key points such as their way of life compared to The 'English'. The Amish refer to the outsiders who are not Amish as 'English' whether they are American, Chinese, German, white, black, blue, pink or any other ethnicity or colour. The main point in the film is about a boy who Witnesses a murder. Witness- witness is someone who has knowledge about a crime or dramatic event through their senses (e.g. seeing, hearing, smelling, touching) and can help certify important considerations to the crime or event. A witness who has seen the event firsthand is known as an eye-witness. This is a very good title for the film because witness not only means that you have seen it but you also understand what has happened. In this case Samuel Witnesses the murder and also understands what has happened. Seeing- To observe with the eyes. This word plays a very big part in the film as the film requires you to see through different angles to understand what is going on. One example of this is when McPhee murders a person. There are two ways of taking in this bit. The first way of seeing this is Why McPhee kills the man but then there is another way of looking at it. The second way of looking at it is that as McPhee is a
You have been asked to write a report for the court about a case, the details of which are given below. You have been specifically asked to comment on the credibility of a particular witness' testimony.
You have been asked to write a report for the court about a case, the details of which are given below. You have been specifically asked to comment on the credibility of a particular witness' testimony. This witness is the key prosecution witness but the court wants an independent expert to give their opinion about the strengths and weaknesses of this testimony. Using your psychological knowledge you should comment on what factors might have impaired the witness and what factors suggest that the witness' evidence could be strong. Would you recommend that the court accept this witness' evidence? You should back up the points you make with reference to the research literature, both applied and theoretical. Your report should follow the outline given at the end of the case information. It should be noted that the events depicted in this case are fictional and that this exercise is purely for the purposes of assessing this module and does not constitute any form of training in writing expert reports. Case Information The offence On the 11 December 2004 at 7pm a young male was attacked in the street by a group of 3 males and was so badly injured that the victim is still in a coma. The defendant The defendant is T. who is a 17 year old white male and it is claimed that he was the ringleader of the group. He was identified by the witness (Mrs P) as being the person who
Outline and evaluate the research into eyewitness testimony.
Outline and evaluate the research into eyewitness testimony. There has been a vast amount of interest into eyewitness testimony (EWT). EWT investigate the accuracy of memory following a crime or incident worth interrogating and the types of errors make in such situations. Sometimes EWT can be unreliable, which can lead to horrific consequences in a court of law. Rattner (1988) reviewed 205 cases of wrongful arrest (such as the case of Edward Honaker) and found that in 52% of cases, this was due to mistaken EWT. Baddeley (1997) has reported that 74% of suspects were convicted in 300 cases where EWT was the only evidence against them. Problems can occur at any point in the memory process, whether it is during acquisition, during storage or during retrieval. A number of different types of research have been pursued to understand the reasoning for mistaken and unreliable EWT, anxiety being one of them. When considering the reliability of EWT, it is important to bear in mind the type of crime that is being recalled. Some crimes, such as those involving violence, are associates with high levels of anxiety in victims or onlookers. Whether anxiety really does lead to unreliable remembering depends on a number of factors. Loftus 191979) reported a lab study which demonstrated the huge role that anxiety can play. Participants were exposed to two situations, one, a low key
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
The Witness
The Witness The dark sedan pulled quietly up outside a comfortable family home in Quarter Close. The brick residence stood silent and dark in the early hours of the morning, looking much like the rest of the houses in the Grove. However, inside this house lay the prosecution's sole witness in the most important case in the history of the state. Without him, the trial could not go to court. His life was in danger. Joel Granger stepped from of the car with two colleagues and the three men made their way slowly and quietly to the boy's bedroom window. Joel stood watch with his pistol at the ready. The FBI didn't normally do this sort of thing, but in this case there was no other choice. His colleagues quickly snatched the sleeping boy from his bed, covering his mouth, and threw him into the waiting car. Joel stepped into the driver's seat and eased the car off down the road. The boy, Adam Martins had witnessed what was turning out to be the most important case in the state's history, and after the FBI had uncovered the Mafia link they were left with no choice but to take Adam into safety. They presumed that the Mafia was watching every move made by Adam and his family, and the FBI couldn't risk telling the boy's mother or any other family members. Adam sat in the backseat, squeezed between two agents. He was confused, still half asleep and luckily, very quiet. The dark car
‘So long as you explore the relevant issues and areas, it does not matter how witnesses are asked questions.’ Critically consider this statement in the light of eyewitness testimony research.
'So long as you explore the relevant issues and areas, it does not matter how witnesses are asked questions.' Critically consider this statement in the light of eye witness testimony research. The way an eye witness is asked a question, can seriously affect the reliability of the evidence he/she gives. This is due to the reconstructive nature of memory which was investigated by Bartlett in 1932 using 'War of the Ghosts'. Bartlett believed that memory cannot be replayed like a videotape and therefore suggested that the process of remembering things is an active reconstruction which is affected by schemas. A schema is an organised packet of information stored in long term memory which develops over a lifetime, giving meaning to events, telling you how to behave and what to expect. They are also believed to influence what we think we have seen and how we recall it. Stereotypes also fall into the category of schemas as they summarise information and represent different classes of people regarding their characteristics such as race and gender. In 1932, Bartlett read 'War of the Ghosts', a Native American tale, to a group of English participants and then asked them to recall it twenty hours later. The results from this recall showed that he original tale had become distorted in memory, as the tale was shortened and now reflected a
Is Eyewitness testimony reliable and accurate? Include case studies to back this up.
Eyewitness Testimony (EWT) essay Is Eyewitness testimony reliable and accurate? Include case studies to back this up. EWT refers to evidence supplied by people who witness a specific event or crime, relying on their own memory. Statements often include descriptions given in a criminal trial and subsequent identification by individuals who were present at the crime scene. EWT is likely to dependent on reconstructive memory(Bartlett,1932) which describes how memory is more than a passive recall. It is the active process of building up memory using fragments to fill gaps of an event in memory plus the expectations and assumptions (schema) of that event. This form of EWT is not 100% accurate as it is relying on the schema to fill in these gaps and varies from person to person. Reconstruction is not the only form of distortion in EWT as language; leading questions and post-event information may even distort reconstruction, further leading to memory to use and confabulation. Loftus and Palmer found that changing the wording of one critical question ("About how fast were the cars going when they (hit/smashed/collided/ bumped/contacted-the five conditions) each other?") posed to eyewitnesses of a car accident had a significant effect on the estimated speed of the vehicles. Loftus and Palmer found that estimated speed was influenced by the verb used. The verb implied information
To what extent has psychological research shown eyewitness testimony to be unreliable?
To what extent has psychological research shown eyewitness testimony to be unreliable? Eyewitness testimony is the evidence that is provided by individuals whom have witnessed an event, crime or happening. EWT relies solely on recall from memory and normally includes accounts of events and descriptions of persons involved. Although EWT is used largely by the police on identifying suspects of a crime, giving great cause for concern over policing methods in our society. It has been proven by psychologists not to be entirely reliable. It has also been shown that it is not the witness themselves that are unreliable but more so the methods used by professionals to obtain testimonial statements. The main issue concerned with the unreliability of EWT lies in the effect of language. A school of thought is provoked by the studies of Elizabeth Loftus. She has carried out various experiments concerned with leading questions and language. She believes that the language used when questioning witnesses may lead them to give a certain answer. In 1974 Loftus and Palmer studied EWT by showing participants films of a multiple car crash. After watching the film they were then asked questions including "How fast do you think the cars were going when they hit?" In some cases the word hit was replaced other nouns such as smashed, collided, bumped or contacted. Also, a week later they
The Silent Witness?
The Silent Witness? A shiver went down my spine. My heart began to race. My palms, so abruptly had become tense and pale as if the blood had been drained out of them. I desperately searched for the way out. By now the fog had turned into a thick blanket, which had surrounded me. There was absolute silence; all I could see was the vile black floor that seemed to have a hold on me. It was no use; I looked around in optimism, wishing I could see a way out or someone would come to take me away, but it was useless. The, now unseeable, winding tunnel seemed to be endless. I could hear that echo again; that burly, menacing laugh that was pursuing me. Within a glance back I could feel this profound, hot breath upon my neck. It was too late, as I looked up I saw this vague, feeble figures reaching out at me. Their hands so diminutive but clawed and blood thirsty. I screamed with every last ounce of energy I had, though it seemed my voice as well as I was trapped. The laughter grew and no encircled me. 'NO!' Thank heavens it was only a dream. I sat upright upon my bed, panting, sweat trickled down my face. Trying to regain my breath as well as my sanity, I repeated to myself, 'it was only a dream' several times. I began to gaze across my room, when my eyes became transfixed upon the old, tarnished window, which stood upright high on the wall, as if it was always overlooking me, I
'Eyewitness testimony may be all the evidence that is available in a trial but it is notoriously unreliable.' Consider what psychological research can tell us about the accuracy of eyewitness testimony.
'Eyewitness testimony may be all the evidence that is available in a trial but it is notoriously unreliable.' Consider what psychological research can tell us about the accuracy of eyewitness testimony. Evidence given by eyewitnesses is seen as extremely valuable by jurors. Baddeley (1997) stated that 74% of suspects were convicted on evidence given by eyewitnesses alone. This would lead many to think that eyewitness testimonies are subject to little inaccuracy; however, vast research has highlighted many problems. One problem is misleading post-event information. Elizabeth Loftus, one of the main researchers into the accuracy of eyewitness testimonies, was interested as to how information provided after an event affected memory. As a cause of this intrigue, Loftus carried out a number of experiments. For example, in 1975 Lofts showed 150 participants a film of a car accident. After they had seen this video the participants were split into two groups. Each group were asked ten questions about what they had seen. Group one were asked questions which were consistent with what the film showed. Group two were asked the same questions with the addition of one which conflicted what was shown on the video-"How fast was the white car going when it passed the barn?" This question was misleading as there was no barn pictured within the video. After a week, the participants were all
