Memory 4 (Factors affecting EWT)

Leading Qs, Post- Event Discussions, Anxiety

Leading Qs. A01

Loftus and Palmer wanted to investigate whether the phrasing of a question can affect pps memory of an event. In a controlled study - used 45 American students who were split into 5 groups of 9 ppts. Pps were shown a video of a car crash + each group asked one of 5 critical questions:

“About how fast were the cars travelling when they ****** each other?”

Blank space was either: smashed, hit, collided, bumped or contacted.

L+P measured pps speed estimates + calculated the mean speed estimate in mph. 

Found - pps guessed a higher mean speed when they had ‘smashed’ (40.8mph) compared to contacted (31.8mph).

Misleading Info. A03 (+)

Effect of leading questions on the accuracy of EWT - has practical applications; the notion that leading questions can affect the accuracy of EWT has led to improvements in the legal system.

Eg. police officers need to be very careful about how they phrase their questions when interviewing witnesses, + not use leading questions.  

Therefore, the research in to how leading questions affect the accuracy of EWT is an important part of applied psychology - it could lead to more accurate testimonies and improve the lives of people affected by crime.

FURTHER: Research could have a positive impact on the economy; if witness statements are more accurate this could lead to a quicker conviction of the correct perpetrator, meaning less tax payers’ money is spent on multiple police interviews or re-trials, + this money could be used elsewhere to benefit society.

Post Event Discussion (Mintro)

When witnesses of an event (which can be a crime) discuss it with one another (post event discussion) their EWT may become contaminated.

This is because they combine (mis)information from other witnesses with their own

Post Event Discussion A01 (ASMPFC)

Gabbert et al wanted to investigate whether post - event discussions can affect pps memory of an event. They conducted a lab experiment where pps watched vid of a girl stealing money from a wallet.

Pps either tested individually (control group) / in pairs (co-witness group)

Pps in co-witness group - told they watched the same vid - but in fact they’d watched diff. perspectives of same crime - only 1 person acc witnessed girl stealing

Pps in co-witness group discussed crime together - then all pps completed questionnaire - testing their memory of event.

Findings - 71% of witnesses who discussed the crime mistakenly recalled info. they hadn’t seen - but picked up in discussion. In control group of ppts who had not discussed the video, this figure was 0%.

60% of the witnesses who had not seen the actual crime had claimed the girl was guilty

C - Post event discussions can contaminate memory of a crime + could be due to memory conformity. Either because ppl don’t want to go against what the other person said or because they believe they r right + hv missed info.

Post - Event Discussion A03 (+)

Strength - practical application - the notion that post event discussion can affect accuracy of EWT led to improvements in the legal system. For eg. efforts r made to make sure witnesses don’t discuss event with each other - to reduce contamination of their memories.

Therefore - important part of applied psychology - lead to more accurate testimonies + improve lives of ppl affected by crime.

Post - Event Discussion A03 (-)

Lacks mundane realism - gabbert et al used an artificial task of showing pps a video to measure how post-event discussions affect memory of a crime - makes it difficult to generalize findings to witness memory in real life - may be different when emotion is attached.

Therefore - reducing external.v of research into post-event discussions affecting memory of an EWT.

Post - Event Discussion A03 (+)

Research such as Gabbert et al - lab exp. - High control over EVs - Eg. all pps filled out the same questionnaire + the video they watched was controlled by researcher.

Easier to repeat + look for consistent results

Therefore - increases internal.v of research into post-event discussions affecting memory of an EWT.

Post - Event Discussion A03 (-)

Lacks Ecological.V - Research such as Gabbers was conducted in an artificial.env - lab - pps may hv not acted like they would hv if they witnessed the crime in real life.

Therefore - diff. to generalise findings into real life memory of EWT - when there’s emotion attached to event - memory might be diff. - reducing external.v of research into post-event discussions affecting memory of EWT

What is anxiety?

• Anxiety has strong emotional + physical effects.

• But it is not clear whether these effects make recall of EWT better or worse.

Johnson + Scott A01 (also a01 in 16m)

A - To investigate the effects of anxiety on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony

P - Pps placed in 1 of 2 cond. either high anxiety ‘weapon focus‘ or low anxiety cond. (IV)

• Pps told to wait outside a room before the exp. began - in high anxiety cond. - pps heard an argument + sound of breaking glass from within room + man walked out of room carrying a knife covered with blood

• In low anxiety cond. - heard argument from within room - before man walked out with grease on their hands + pen

• Pps then had to identify the person who left the room from 50 photographs. (DV)

F: Found 49% accuracy - low anxiety condition / 33% in the high anxiety ‘weapon focus’ cond.

Christianson and Hubinette Study (A03 in 16m)

A- To investigate the effects of anxiety on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony

P- They interviewed 58 real life witnesses of a bank robbery. ​

• Some had been directly threatened (bank teller- high anxiety) + others were bystanders (customers – low anxiety). ​​

F - Those who had been directly threatened had significantly better memories than the bystanders. ​

This goes against Johnson + Scott - suggesting

Yerke’s Dodson Law

Anxiety as a Factor Affecting EWT (AO3)

Yerkes-Dodson Law - used to evaluate anxiety as a factor affecting accuracy of EWT - proposes anxiety + accuracy not a simple relationship.

Diff. levels of anxiety affect accuracy of EWT - too little / too much anxiety - poor EWT recall BUT if reach optimum level of anxiety (somewhere in between these 2 points) - accuracy of EWT is high.

Explains diff in results of J+S results AND C+H

May be C+H were at optimum level - more accurate EWT WHEREAS pps in J+S more anxious cause in exp. - less accurate EWT.

THerefore - resolves contradiction + validates that anxiety does affect EWT