Debate; Reliability of Eyewitness Testimonies

Reconstructive Memory (FOR)

McCloskey and Zaragoza (1985)

• processes such as misinformation acceptance could also account for misinformation effects

Reconstructive Memory (AGAINST)

Bartlett (1932)

• schemas can distort memory

• British participants were asked to memorise a Native American story

• Western schemas distorted the recalling of the story

Belli et al. (1992)

• memory impairment occurs when post event misinformation hinders the ability to remember event details

• renders details less accessible

Crimes as Emotive Experiences (FOR)

Williams (1994)

• used hospital records of 206 sexual assault cases on girls from 1973-1975

• 20 years later 129 women of the women were interviewed

  • 38% didn’t remember the assault

  • 16% recovered the memory

Crimes as Emotive Experiences (AGAINST)

Loftus and Pickerill (1995)

• False Memory Syndrome

• they planted a false memory on participants who were told they were lost at the mall as a child

Clifford and Scott (1978)

• people who saw a film of a violent attack remembered fewer of the 40 items of information about the event than a control group who saw a less stressful version

• memory accuracy may be even more affected in a real life crime

Children as Eyewitnesses (FOR)

Goldfarb et al. (2021)

• tested whether developmental differences persist when a Cognitively Informed Protocol (Cogl) is utilised and if interview efficacy depends on delivery modality

• children, teens and adults did not differ in recall productivity

• children and teens were able to recall more contacts than older adults

Children as Eyewitnesses (AGAINST)

Outreau Case (2004)

• 13 individuals were falsely accused of child sexual abuse and incarcerated

• evidence given by the children during this trial was found to be inconsistent

Post-Event Information (FOR)

Brown and Kulik (1977)

• Flashbulb memories

• all flashbulb memories have a similar structure

Post-Event Information (AGAINST)

Allport and Postman (1947)

• when asked to recall details of a picture, participants tended to say that it was a black man holding the razor (it wasn’t)

• shows that memory is an ‘active process’ that can change to abide by societal expectations (i.e. Western schemas)

Social and Economic Impacts

• 75% of false convictions are caused by inaccurate eyewitness statements

• psychological harm from imprisonment

• cause economic strain on CPS