Eyewitness Testimony and Memory Biases

Key Concepts

• Eyewitness testimony is influential in legal contexts but prone to errors and biases.
• Memories can be inaccurate or even completely false.
• Errors in eyewitness memory can significantly impact justice, leading to wrongful convictions.

Learning Objectives

• Understand common eyewitness errors and their impact on justice.
• Explore errors in human memory.
• Examine research on memory errors and consequences.

The Nature of Eyewitness Testimony

• Involves recalling details of witnessed events in court.
• Process includes police and lawyer interviews, and perpetrator identification.

Importance in Psychological Research

• Eyewitness testimony is often compelling but not always accurate.
• Mistaken testimonies can lead to wrongful convictions, often reversed by DNA evidence.

Misinformation Effect

• Misinformation between witnessing and recalling an event can alter memory.
• Example: Subjects misled with incorrect details (e.g., traffic sign) recalled those details as correct.
• Susceptibility varies by age; children and older adults are more vulnerable.

Identifying Perpetrators

• Eyewitnesses often asked to identify suspects from photo spreads or lineups.
• Errors can stem from poor conditions, stress, and time delay.
• Legal systems can mitigate errors with better lineup procedures.

Memory Biases

• Memory is subject to biases, such as forgetting events or details.
• Schemata help manage information but can distort specific memories.

False Memories

• False memories can be implanted through suggestion or other manipulations.
• Research shows false memories can be created for various events.

Conclusion

• Eyewitness testimony is powerful but unreliable.
• Errors can lead to false accusations and convictions.
• Recommendations are in place to improve legal processes and educate jurors.

Vocabulary

• False Memories: Memories for events that never occurred.
• Foils: Non-suspects in a lineup.
• Misinformation Effect: Memory errors from post-event misinformation.
• Mock Witnesses: Subjects acting as witnesses in research.
• Photo Spreads: Images used for suspect identification.
• Schema: Memory framework built from repeated exposure.

Discussion Points

• Consider how knowledge of memory errors could influence jury decisions.
• Discuss realism of TV portrayals of eyewitnesses.
• Evaluate psychological implications of show-ups in eyewitness identification.