Eyewitness Testimony Reliablility

key issue for cognitive approach

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  • Created by: Lollipop
  • Created on: 09-01-13 20:16

Key issue

A witness is someone that witnesses a crime - witness or victim

Eye witness testimony is a statement given by someone who has seen the crime about the crime

They give evidence in court, identify the criminal and give a account of the event

Can be unreliable and inaccurate

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Explaining Key Issue

Cue Dependent

  • Cues aid memory and recall so if not in same mood or environment when recalling information as when event occured forgetting will occur
  • Witnesses not in same environemtn or state when recalling crime information as when crime happened sot hey may forget information about crime

Reconstructive Memory

  • Gaps in memory are unconsciously fillded with schemata of what people expect to have happened
  • Witnesses may only remember some details of crime so fill in missing information with what they think happened so memory and recall is not fully correct

Loftus and Palmer

  • Shows that the way questions are worded - leading questions can affect how information is recalled
  • For eyewitnesses if leading questions are asked then they could change information during recall or forget aspects of the crime
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