Eyewitness Testimony; Misleading Information

Eyewitness Testimony; Misleading Information

1. Misleading Information

   • Refers to incorrect information given to the eyewitness, usually after the event
   • Can take the form of a leading question or post event discussion

2. Leading Question

   • Loftus & Palmer
   • Procedure
     • Ppts watched film clips of car accidents and were asked a series of questions about the clip
     • Ppts asked a critical question which was a leading question
     • 5 groups, each given a diff. verb (hit, contacted, bumped. collided, smashed)
   • Findings
     • Mean estimated speed calculated for each ppt
     • Smashed - mean 40.8mph
     • Contacted - mean 31.8mph
   • Conclusion
     • Leading question reconstructed the memory

3. Post Event Discussion

   • Procedure
     • Ppts in pairs where each partner watched a diff. video of the same crime (filmed from diff. points of view)
     • Meant each could see elements that the other could not
     • E.g. only one ppt could see the title of a book being carried by a young woman
     • Both ppts discussed what they had seen before completing a test of recall
   • Findings
     • 71% ppts mistakenly recalled aspects they did not see in the video
     • Control group with no discussion - results fell to 0%
     • Concluded witnesses often go along with each other, wither to win social approval or because they believe the other witnesses are right and they are wrong
       • Called memory conformity
   • Gabbert