Familiarity vs Source Memory & Eyewitness Testimony - Chapter 7

Question 1

Source Monitoring Errors

Answer 1

The inability to properly attribute how (i.e., from what source) a memory originated
- Destination memory errors

Question 2

Familiarity and the Illusion of Truth

Answer 2

1. Participants given a series of sentences and asked
   to judge how interesting each statement was
   
   • E.g. “The average Swiss citizen eats 18 pounds of cheese per year” OR “Henry Ford forgot to put a reverse gear in his first automobile”
2. Then presented with new sentences and asked to judge the credibility of information
   
   • Certainly False………..Certainly True

Question 3

Mere Exposure Effect

Answer 3

Just being exposed to a stimuli repeatedly can increase later preferences

Question 4

Is Eyewitness Testimony Reliable?

Answer 4

• People misidentify and
  misreport events despite
  high confidence in their
  recall ability
• Juries much more likely to
  believe a confident witness
• > 75% of wrongful convictions attributed
  to mistaken eyewitnesses

Question 5

Case of Ronald Cotton

Answer 5

• Ronald Cotton selected from police lineup
• Initial ID was tentative
• Confidence in ID increased over time

Question 6

Familiarity vs Source Memory

Answer 6

1. Participants shown staged crime
2. 2-3 days later shown other mug shots
3. 4-5 days later asked to identify suspect from lineup