17. EWT

17. EWT

1. EWT

   • EWT = account given by people of an event they witnesses
   • Patterson & Baddeley (1977) effect of disguise = every time an item of disguise was added / removed, correct recognition decreased
   • Bruce et al (1999) face recognition around 65%
   • SImons & Chabris (2011) 37% people belive EWT is sufficient to convict a criminal defendent, but some sames with relying on EWT
   • GArrett (2011) found nealry all 161 cases of innocent individuals convicted were so ebcuase of EWT

2. Improving EWT

   • reduce time between event and giving testimony
   • contextual reinstatement = taking witness back to the scene of the crime to recall details
   • cognitive interview = describe event in different order and from different viwpoints

3. EWT generalisable?

   • Research is not relevant to real-life
     • ecological valdiity
     • lab see faces for few seconds, real crimes ahve around 5-10 minutes
     • Leippe et al (2004) expert testimony on EWT reduces guily verdicts
     • Flowe et al (2018) EWT are bystanders in lab, victim in life. Real more stressful than lab. Lab see 1 persepctive, life more. real acquianted with culprit.
   • Research relevant to real-life
     • lindsay & HArvie (1988) EWT dont distort findings
     • cutler et al (1989) expert evidence effects jurors judgements
     • Safer et al (2016) Interview, identification, eyewitness factors (I-I-Eye) aids jurors = evluate adequacy of law enforcement, idenficiation procedures and EWT factors
     • Ihlebaek et al (2003) robbery live or video, video recalled ore information

4. Factors influencing EWT

   • change blindness: failing to notice apparently obvious changes in an object, e.g. gorilla
   • Chnage chnage blindess: misplaced condifence in our ability to detect visual changes, e.g. when particiapnts asked if they would detect changes, they verestimated abilities
   • leading questions =retroactive and proactive interference
   • Expectations: schemas influence how we interpret new information, recall information over time.
   • misinformation effect: misleading information presented after event causes distortions of memory. e.g. Loftus and Palmer car
   • verbal overshadowing: EWT memory for faces is even worse after they have gievn verbal description
   • stress: stress reduces learning and memory
   • unconscious transference: EWT remembers a face from a different circumstance, e.g. suggesting bystander not criminal
   • Anxiety / Violence: memory for violent event is stronger than memory for non-violent, especially when a weapon is present
   • other-race effect: we are not experts in recognising races other than ours
   • age: older adults have reduced ability to sustain attention, less able to retieve contexual info, harder to monitor items and retrievl is less precise