- Eyewitness memory
Eyewitness memory refers to the
episodic memory of specific event, often acrime . Eyewitness memory, which is relied upon in the process ofeyewitness identification , is thought to be fragile and easily distorted by information obtained post-event. [Principles of Cog. Psychology, Eyesenck, M.W. 2nd ed (2003), pp229]Fragility of eyewitness memory
Vulnerability to post-event distortion
As with all
memories , eyewitness memories can be distorted by what we previously knew (proactive interference) or what we learn in the future (retroactive interference). Thedistortion of memories by these means has been widely studied in relation tointerference theory .In the case of eyewitness memory, retroactive interference perhaps as a result of
police questioning, can lead to difficulty in accurate recall.A
1974 study by Loftus and Palmer suggests that eyewitness memory is highly vulnerable to post-event distortion. Participants were presented withphotographic slides of a multiple-vehicular accident .Experimental group participants were then asked either "About how fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?" or "About how fast were the cars going when they hit each other?". Participants were questioned a week later as to whether they had seen broken glass in the photographic slides. Although no broken glass was in actuality present in the slides, 32% of participants originally asked if the cars had "smashed into each other" reported they had. This was in comparison to only 14% of those asked if the cars "had hit each other," the conclusion being that the information in the question affected recall of the event. [Principles of Cog. Psychology, Eyesenck, M.W. 2nd ed (2003), pp221] [ [http://www.psychexchange.co.uk/file17.html PsychExchange.co.uk ] ]Verbal overshadowing of visual recall
It has been suggested that
verbal reports may interfere withvisual recall of an event. This was concluded by Schooler and Engstler-Schooler following their study in1990 . Participants in this study initially viewed avideo recording of acrime . Subsequently one group of participants made a detailed verbal report of thephysical appearance of thecriminal whilst the other group performed an unrelated task. All participants then were asked to visually identify the criminal. The group which made the verbal report performed significantly worse in this final visual identification task. [Principles of Cog. Psychology, Eyesenck, M.W. 2nd ed (2003),p222] Subsequentresearch has largely replicated these findings by Schooler et al. although alternative conclusions have been made. [http://digitalcommons.utep.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1007&context=christian_meissner]ee also
*
Eyewitness identification
*Face perception
*Weapon focus References
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