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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