https://padlet.com/kwelsh51/pgfq53wkj1fo59z6 Outline and evaluate research into the accuracy of eyewitness testimony (16 Marks) en-us 2022-04-01 09:41:44 UTC 2022-04-01 10:13:43 UTC hello@padlet.com https://legacyneuro.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/blog-memory-.jpg casparwee https://padlet.com/kwelsh51/pgfq53wkj1fo59z6/wish/2125175463 - the evidence provided by witnesses of a particular crime or event
- it relies on recall from memory
- EWT, for example, includes statements of descriptions of criminals and crime scenes
- witnesses are often unreliable in their recollection of events which has important implications when it comes to police investigations
- many cognitive psychologists focus on working out what factors affect accuracy of EWT, and how accuracy can be improved in interviews]]> 2022-04-01 09:55:54 UTC https://padlet.com/kwelsh51/pgfq53wkj1fo59z6/wish/2125175463 casparwee https://padlet.com/kwelsh51/pgfq53wkj1fo59z6/wish/2125179325 There is a large base of evidence suggesting that misleading information can lead to EWT inaccuracy, which has raised awareness that the criminal justice system cannot always rely on EWT as a basis for, sometimes incorrect, convictions. Research Loftus and Palmer (1974) involves Participants being shown videos of traffic collisions, and then given a questionnaire to test their immediate recall of the videos’ events. Among the questions was one critical question, “About how fast were the cars going when they hit each other?”. One group was asked this version, but four other groups were given versions that replaced “hit” with either “contacted”, “collided”, “bumped” or “smashed”. The results found that vehicle speed estimates were fastest on average for participants given the “smashed” version, and slowest for participants given the “contacted” version, suggesting that an eye witness’ immediate recall of an event could be skewed by leading questions.

]]> 2022-04-01 10:00:03 UTC https://padlet.com/kwelsh51/pgfq53wkj1fo59z6/wish/2125179325 casparwee https://padlet.com/kwelsh51/pgfq53wkj1fo59z6/wish/2125186611 - Although Loftus and Palmer have evidence that suggests that misleading information can lead to EWT inaccuracy it does have limitations
- The experiment was artificial- watching a video is not as emotionally arousing as a real-life event, which potentially affects recall
- in fact, a later study found that participants who thought they'd observed a real robbery could give an accurate description of the robber
- The experimental design may also lead to demand characteristics where the results are skewed because of the participants expectations about the purpose of the experiment
- this would decrease the validity and reliability of the experiment

]]> 2022-04-01 10:07:57 UTC https://padlet.com/kwelsh51/pgfq53wkj1fo59z6/wish/2125186611 sthomas348 https://padlet.com/kwelsh51/pgfq53wkj1fo59z6/wish/2125187073 2022-04-01 10:08:30 UTC https://padlet.com/kwelsh51/pgfq53wkj1fo59z6/wish/2125187073 16pincottl https://padlet.com/kwelsh51/pgfq53wkj1fo59z6/wish/2125191978 Yuille and Cutshall (1986) investigated the positive impacts of anxiety on the accuracy of eye witness testimony. The participants used in the experiment were all witnesses to to a shooting in a shop, with 21 original witnesses - only 13 agreed to take part in the study. These participants were asked to judge their stress levels on a seven point scale 4-5 months after the incident. The results concluded that recall accuracy was better when stress levels were high, with 88% accuracy when a high stress level was reported, compared to 75% accuracy with low stress levels. Although the difference is not that substantial, it indicates that anxiety levels do have an impact on the accuracy of eye witness testimony. ]]> 2022-04-01 10:13:34 UTC https://padlet.com/kwelsh51/pgfq53wkj1fo59z6/wish/2125191978