Accuracy of eyewitness testimony

Accuracy of eyewitness testimony

1. Misleading information

   • Loftus and Palmer
     • 45 students shown 7 films, divided into 5 groups then asked question on accident. In each group the verb changed e.g. smashed, collided, bumped, hit, contacted, asking how fast the cars were going difference in almost 10 mph between smashed and contacted.
       • First experiment
     • 3 groups of P's, different verb smashed or hit control group not asked about speed. 1 week later P's asked if they saw broken glass smashed - 16 yes 34 no hit - 7 yes 43 no control - 6 yes 44 no
       • Second experiment
   • RWA misleading information is the no1 cause of wrongly accusing someone of committing a crime - Wells & Olsen

2. Age

   • Yarmey
     • 651 adults stopped & asked to recall the face of a person they had spoken with for 15 seconds. 18-29 & 30-44 were more confident in their recall than 45-65 however age didn't effect accuracy of recall older people just took longer.
   • Pool & Lindsay
     • 3-8 year olds watched a science demonstration and then were read a story that included aspects of the demonstration but also new information. P's questioned about the science demonstration but included lots of the new info. P's were asked to think about where the had gotten the info olden then revised their account and removed post even information. Younger children could not do this.
   • Own age bias
     • People are better at identifying people of a similar age.

3. Anxiety

   • Loftus
     • Weapon focus effect, Ps waited outside a room where they could hear either an argument happening and a man emerging with a knife covered in blood or an amicable discussion with a man emerging with a pen covered in grease. P's were later asked to identify the man from 50 photos those who saw the pen were more accurate, proving anxiety reduces accuracy of recall.
   • Cristianson & Hubinette
     • 58 witnesses of real bank robberies, witnesses who had been threatened had more accurate recall, and remembered more than onlookers.
   • Yorkes-Dodson law, there is an optimum point of arousal, lower and higher than this optimum reduces performance.