Factors affecting eyewitness testimony:Misleading information -A-Level Psychology
Misleading information-incorrect information given to the eyewitness usually after the event(leading questions/post-event discussion between co-witnesses/people)
Leading questions:
Loftus and Palmer(1974)
Experiment 1
Procedure-45 participants watched films of different car accidents and then gave them questions.In the critical question (Leading question) participants were asked to describe how fast the cars were travelling ‘About how fast were the cars going when they hit each other?’Each of the five different groups had a different verb e.g smashed,collided,bumped,contacted.This critical question was a leading question because it suggested the answer the participant might give.
Findings-
| Verb | Mean speed estimate |
|---|---|
| smashed | 40.8 |
| collided | 39.3 |
| bumped | 38.1 |
| hit | 34.0 |
| contacted | 31.8 |
Experiment 2
Procedure-The leading question may bias a participant’s response or may cause information to be altered before it is stored.
A new set of participants was divided into 3 groups and shown a film lasting 1 minute and again were asked questions about speed.They were asked to return a week later and were asked 10 questions,including another critical question ‘Did you see any broken glass?’There was no broken glass but those who thought that the car was travelling faster were more likely to think there was broken glass.
Findings-showed that the leading question did change the actual memory a participant had for the event.
Response bias explanation-suggests the wording of the question has no real effect on participants’ memories,but influences how they decide to answer.’Smashes’ encourages them to choose a higher speed estimate.
Substitution explanation-suggests the wording of the leading question actually changes the participants memory of the clip.The critical verb altered their memory of the incident.
Post-event discussion:
The memory of an event may be altered/contaminated through discussing the event with others or being questioned multiple times.
Conformity effect:Fiona Gabbert and her colleagues(2003)
Procedure-studied participants in pairs.Each participant watched a video of the same crime from different points of view.So each participant could see elements in the event that others could not.
Both participants discussed what they had seen before individually completing a test of recall
Findings-71% of the witnesses who had discussed the event went on to mistakenly recall items acquired during the discussion
Gabbert et al concluded that witnesses go along with each other to gain social approval(phenomenon memory conformity)
Repeat interviewing-each time an eyewitness is interviewed there is a chance that the comments from the interviewer will become incorporated into their recollection of events
Evaluation:
Artificial tasks-A limitation of Loftus and Palmer’s study is that their participants watched film clips which is a different experience from witnessing a real accident as they lack the stress of a real accident.This is a limitation becauses it means the study tells very little about the effect of leading questions on EWT in real accidents/crimes.
Supporting evidence-
College students were asked to evaluate advertising materials about disneyland.This material has misleading information about either bugs bunny or ariel(Bugs is not disney,Ariel had not been introduced at the time of their childhood).They were assigned to Bugs,Ariel or a control condition.All had visited disneyland.Participants in the Bugs and Ariel group were more likely to report having shaken hands with these characters compared to the control group.This shows how misleading information can create an inaccurate memory.
Eyewitness testimony is a form of evidence given by a person who witnessed a crime or an event, and is later called to testify about what they saw.
Misleading information refers to any information that is given to an eyewitness after an event, which may alter their memory or recollection of the original event.
Misleading information can alter an eyewitness’s memory of the original event, making it more difficult to recall accurate information. This can lead to incorrect or incomplete testimony.
Examples of misleading information include leading questions, post-event discussion, and incorrect information provided by authority figures or witnesses.
A leading question is a question that suggests a particular answer, often by providing information or phrasing the question in a way that implies a specific response.
Leading questions can influence an eyewitness’s memory of an event, as they may be more likely to recall information that aligns with the suggested answer.
Post-event discussion refers to conversations that take place among witnesses after an event. These discussions may alter individual memories of the event.
Post-event discussion can lead to the incorporation of new information into an individual’s memory of the event, or the loss of original information.
Yes, factors such as the timing of the testimony, the accuracy of the witness’s initial perception, and the absence of misleading information can all contribute to more reliable eyewitness testimony.
Strategies for improving eyewitness testimony accuracy include using open-ended questions, avoiding leading questions, conducting interviews in a neutral setting, and providing prompt feedback to the witness.
Knowledge of factors affecting eyewitness testimony can be useful in identifying situations where eyewitness testimony may be less reliable, and in developing procedures to reduce the likelihood of false or misleading testimony.
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