Lecture_7_Forgetting_and_eyewitness_testimony_2025_1_
Forgetting and Eyewitness Testimony
Overview
This lecture focuses on the concept of forgetting and its implications for eyewitness testimony. The main highlight is that eyewitness memory is not a perfect record of events; rather, it is malleable and can be influenced by various factors.
Key Principles
Eyewitness memory is influenced by:
Confirmation Bias: The tendency to focus on evidence that supports one’s expectations while disregarding contradictory evidence.
Misleading Information: Subsequent information presented after the event can distort the eyewitness’s memory.
Retroactive Interference: New learning interferes with the recall of old information.
Key Theories of Forgetting
Interference Theory: Explains forgetting in terms of interference from other learned information.
Proactive Interference: Previously learned material disrupts the recall of new information.
Retroactive Interference: Learning new information interferes with the retrieval of previously learned information.
Consolidation: A process that stabilizes a memory after its initial acquisition, during which memories are vulnerable to disruption. This process can last several hours.
Role of Forgetting
Adaptive Forgetting: Protective forgetting that leads to more efficient memory usage.
Maladaptive Forgetting: Unproductive memory loss which can hinder life functioning.
Memory Retrieval Challenges
Cue-Dependent Forgetting: Difficulty recalling information due to inadequate retrieval cues.
Encoding Specificity Principle (Tulving, 1979): The likelihood of retrieving information is higher when the retrieval context matches the encoding context.
Example Study: Godden & Baddeley (1980) found that divers recalled words better in the same environment they were learned.
The Cognitive Interview
An innovative method used to enhance eyewitness memory through techniques such as context reinstatement, recalling from different perspectives, and allowing witnesses to report any detail without interruption. It is designed based on the encoding specificity principle.
Impact of Stress and Anxiety on Memory
High-stress conditions lead to lower accuracy in recalling details of an event.
Meta-analysis shows that key details of incidents are better recalled under low-stress circumstances.
Age and Race Effects on Eyewitness Memory
Age: Older adults are typically less accurate than younger adults in recalling events, and they are more susceptible to false memories.
Race: Recognition accuracy is influenced by the race of the eyewitness as same-race faces are more accurately identified.
Evidence indicates cross-race identification is less reliable, with variations depending on prior experience with different racial groups.
Misleading Information and Its Effects
Post-Event Information: Information given after an event can alter original memory. Studies by Loftus & Palmer (1974) demonstrated that the phrasing of questions affected eyewitness memory significantly, leading to errors such as the belief that broken glass was present when the verb "smashed" was used instead of "hit."
Techniques for Improving Eyewitness Memory
Sequential Line-Ups: More reliable than simultaneous line-ups as they reduce misidentifications.
Emphasis on Cognitive Interviews shows increased accuracy in eyewitness accounts, outperforming standard police interviews.
Studies reveal that accuracy in identification improves significantly with cognitive interview techniques compared to traditional methods.
Conclusion
Understanding how forgetting occurs helps clarify the complexities of eyewitness memory. Numerous factors affect the accuracy of memory recall, including psychological biases, stress, age, and race. Moreover, both proactive and retroactive interference can significantly distort memories, highlighting the need for effective interview techniques to improve eyewitness reliability.