forensics key terms

eyewitness testimony

evidence given by a witness in form of a verbal account or person identification

acquisition

the encoded memory is critical for a testimony because it is the basis of what is retrieved and recalled

bottom-up processing

determined by environmental stimuli, data-driven. not based on knowledge and experience

top-down processing

determined by expectation, memory and knowledge rather than the stimulus itselfep

perceptual set

readiness to use past experience to perceive stimuli in a certain way (it is top-down processing)

encoding specifcity principle

cues present at learning should be present at recall for best accuracy

recall

type of retrieval- person brings to mind info in response to a cue

recognition

type of retrieval- participants have to judge whether info has been previously encountered

cognitive interview technique

mental context reinstatement, report everything, report in reverse, report from different perspective

open depth

brunel, py and launay encourage further round of recall to focus explicitly on little details. yields more correct info

enhanced cognitive interview

Fisher and Geiselman, incorporates communication and cognitive techniques e.g. building rapport and allowing witness to be in control

transcience

decreased access to memory overtime. memories are rapidly forgotten

flashbulb memories

distinct, vivid and detailed memory often for a public event. people report strong memories confidently. memory still does decline

phonological loop

responsible for inner speech

absent mindedness

occurs due to paying insufficient attention at encoding or when encoding was superficial

blocking

info has been encoded and stored but can’t be accessed. tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon. common when under pressure or we know we’re being observed

misattribution

memories attributed to wrong person or thing

suggestibility

incorporation of external info into personal recollection. common for eye witness testimony. e.g. leading question

bias

related to issues with schema. recollections often exaggerate consistency between past and present attitudes

persistence

problematic remembering. inability to forget undesirable and traumatic experiences. influenced by emotion. amygdala plays a role

3.5 - 11

children are interviewed a lot of times before they go to court, by different people and across a long period of time

repeated questioning

makes a child doubt their answer and provide a different one. when answer of ‘I don’t know’ was rejected the child changed their answer approx. 76% of time

open question

question that allows for a more detailed answer and provides more accurate info

closed question

question which allows for a limited range of answers, and is less accurate across and even within interviews

vacant slot hypothesis

explanation for suggestibility- no memory trace was formed or was weakly encoded so vacant info is inserted easily

co-existence hypothesis

explanation for suggestibility. accurate and suggested info are available but suggested is more recent

social compliance hypothesis

explanation for suggestibility. assume suggested information is accurate as they trust the adult

substitution hypothesis

explanation for suggestibility. post event info replaces or distorts original memory

source monitory hypothesis

explanation for suggestibility. initial and subsequent representations of the memory exist and they struggle to remember how each was learnt

facial recognition

faces are dynamic so recognition differs from objects. takes different neurological pathways and processes. recognition of familiar ones is good across conditions

configuration

relationship between components of a face. thatcher illusion- putting a face upside down makes viewers less sensitive to configural info

distinctiveness

makes easier to recognise a face and more quickly

confession

formal admission of guilt, given freely, even if not true.

innocent project

public policy organisation in USA that helps DNA exonerations. 25% of wrongful convictions involved a fake confession

maximisation

done to illicit a confession. scare tactics to intimidate interviewee. can include false evidence claims

PEACE technique

used in the UK to avoid fake confessions. Planning. Engage and Explain. Account- clarify and challenge. Closure- summary. Evaluation- reflection

voluntary false confession

happen due to mental health, notoriety of case, to protect someone, or because they don’t understand implication of confession

coercive false confession

an individual’s cognitive set prior to interrogation affects how they act during interrogation. may confess because its easier or because they internalise false confession

interrogative suggestibility

extent to which people accept the information given by the questioner during intense questioning

statement validity assessment

designed to detect deceitful confessions or accounts based on the idea that they are different in nature to the truth

coerced compliant

aware their memory of event is different but agree for ease

coerced-internalised

suspect’s account begins to fall into line with interrogator publicly and privately

contempt of court act

prohibits disclosure of any details of case or in deliberations

story model. Pennington and Hastie

jurors construct accounts to organise and interpret the evidence they hear, they base it around understanding of legal system and plausibility. confirmation bias is common

dual-process theory. Eagly and Chaiken

involved closer scrutiny of evidence and is systematic. but heuristic processing is more automatic and assumes experts know best and is used when info is complex