Eyewitness Testimony Notes SLIDES

Eyewitness Testimony Notes

Learning Objectives

  • Understand the components of eyewitness memory
  • Describe the independent and dependent variables in eyewitness research
  • Describe recall memory in an eyewitness context
  • Describe biased lineup procedures
  • Summarize the debate surrounding expert testimony on eyewitness issues
  • Outline recommendations for collecting eyewitness evidence

Memory Stages

  • Eyewitness testimony relies on the memory process, which consists of several stages:
    • Perception/Attention: Noticing details during an event.
    • Encoding: Transforming information into a format that can be stored.
    • Short-Term Memory: Temporarily holding information.
    • Long-Term Memory: Storing information for extended periods.
    • Retrieval: Accessing stored information when needed.
  • Problems can occur at any stage; memory is fallible and malleable.

Types of Eyewitness Retrieval

  • Recall Memory: Reporting details of a previously witnessed event or person without prompts.
  • Recognition Memory: Recognizing currently viewed information as previously seen.

Eyewitness Research Methods

  1. Archival Data: Analyzing previous records.
  2. Naturalistic Observation: Observing real-life situations.
  3. Laboratory Simulation: Most commonly used, where participants view an event and later describe it's details (recall) or identify from a lineup (recognition).

Eyewitness Research Variables

  • Independent Variables:
    • Estimator Variables: Present during the crime and cannot be changed (e.g., age of witness).
    • System Variables: Can be manipulated to impact accuracy (e.g., lineup procedures).
  • Dependent Variables:
    1. Recall of the event/crime.
    2. Recall of the perpetrator.
    3. Recognition of the perpetrator.

Recall of Event/Perpetrator

  • Two types of recall:
    • Open-Ended Recall: Witness recounts details without prompts.
    • Direct Question Recall: Witness answers specific questions.
  • Recall assessed by:
    • Amount of information reported.
    • Type of information reported.
    • Accuracy of information reported.

Recognition of the Perpetrator

  • Typically done through lineups:
    • Can include voice or clothing lineups.
  • Recognition is assessed by:
    • Accuracy of decisions.
    • Types of errors made.

Interviewing Eyewitnesses

  • Goal: To obtain accurate accounts.
  • Common impediments by police:
    • Interruptions during free recall.
    • Short or leading questions.
    • Pre-determined question order.
  • Memory can be contaminated by other witnesses (memory conformity).

Hypnosis

  • Used for hypnotically refreshed memory, including:
    • Age regression and various techniques to elicit details.
  • Although it can generate more details, these details are as likely to be inaccurate.
  • Highly suggestive, and information derived is often inadmissible in court.
  • Example: Martensville Satanic Panic case.

Misinformation & Wording Effects

  • The Misinformation Effect: Incorporating inaccurate information presented after witnessing into memory.
  • Example: Car crash experiment with different question phrasing ("hit" vs. "smashed").
  • Factors leading to memory errors:
    • Acceptance of misinformation.
    • Source misattribution.
    • Memory impairment.

Implications of Misinformation

  • Witnesses may inadvertently incorporate unknown information from questions (e.g., "Did you see the gun?").
  • Misinformation Acceptance Hypothesis: Participants guess based on what they believe the interviewer expects.
  • Source Monitoring: Identifying the source of memories accurately can be challenging.

Individual Differences in Memory Distortion

  • Suggestibility varies by:
    • Age (children and depressed individuals are more suggestible).
    • IQ and working memory (higher IQ and working memory correspond to less suggestibility).
  • Autobiographical memories can be reconstructed to maintain self-esteem.

Eyewitnesses and Earwitnesses

  • Eyewitness recall is often lacking in detail; descriptors such as gender and clothing are common.
  • Voice Identification: Limited research; factors affecting accuracy include short samples and accents.
  • McGurk Effect: The phenomenon illustrating the interaction between hearing and vision in speech perception.

Types of Recall Protocols

  1. Free Recall: Open-ended request for all memories.
  2. Narrative Elaboration: Utilizes picture cues to prompt memory retrieval.
  3. Comprehensive Narrative Elaboration Technique (CNET): Multistep procedure with visual cues focusing on various memory components.

Cognitive Interview

  • Techniques include:
    • Context reinstatement.
    • Encouraging comprehensive reporting.
    • Reversing order of reporting.
    • Changing perspectives.
  • Generally enhances accurate information retrieval but could yield more false information than standard interviews.

Lineup Procedures

  • Types of Lineups:
    • Target-present or target-absent lineups.
    • Live lineups vs. photo arrays; photo arrays being more common due to practicality.
  • Sequential vs. Simultaneous Lineup: Sequential lineups lead to more accurate rejections.

Biased Lineups

  • A biased lineup may suggest a specific suspect:
    • Risks include foil and clothing biases.
  • Importance of accuracy in multi-feature identification for reliability.

Witness Confidence

  • A small positive correlation exists between witness confidence and accuracy.
  • Consider the speed of decision and interval between event and identification.
  • Confidence can be manipulated through post-identification feedback.

Estimator Variables

  • Age: Older adults generally have fewer correct identifications.
  • Race: Witnesses tend to remember faces of their own race better (cross-race effect).
  • Weapon Focus: Witness attention on a weapon decreases focus on the perpetrator.

Eyewitness Expert Testimony

  • Controversy exists around the reliability and applicability of eyewitness research.
  • Disagreements include:
    • Variability of results across studies.
    • Use of laboratory simulations.
    • The “common sense” applicability of findings.

Legal Guidelines in the U.S. for Eyewitness Testimony

  • Conduct lineups with an unaware administrator.
  • Inform witnesses that the perpetrator may not be present.
  • Ensure the suspect does not stand out.
  • Record witness confidence at the time of identification.

Sophonow Inquiry in Canada

  • Addressed wrongful conviction; made recommendations for the handling of eyewitness evidence:
    • Videotaping lineup procedures.
    • Sequential photo lineups.
    • Avoid discussing identifications with witnesses.

Additional Resources

  • Study on earwitness reliability
  • Insights from Picking Cotton
  • Eyewitness Testimony & DNA Exonerations documentation
  • Case studies on the Satanic Panic
  • Interviews related to Thomas Sophonow