Memory Disorders Flashcards

Question

how reliable is eyewitness testimony according to Wells & Olson (2003)?

Answer 1

○ "Eyewitness misidentification is the single greatest cause of wrongful convictions nationwide, playing a role in more than 75% of convictions overturned through DNA testing." Still, the criminal justice system profoundly relies on eyewitness identification and testimony for investigating and prosecuting crimes.

Answer 2

○ Forgetting= easier to remember recent events than distant ones § Recall increases and retention decreases and time increases. ○ Intrusions= Mistakes in which elements not part of original memory trace get mixed-up or intrude recall § Didn’t actually happen during the event. ○ Bias= Memory influenced by observer’s prior expectations Due to individual bias

Answer 3

Easier to remember recent events than distant ones 1. Decay ○ Memory traces fade over time ○ Less information available for retrieval as time passes ○ Temporal phasing 2. Interference ○ Similar information gets in the way of to-be-remembered information ○ 2 different types: § Retroactive, more recent information gets in the way of trying to recall older information § New memories obstruct our old memories § Proactive, previously learned materials get in the way of trying to recall newer materials Old memories obstruct new memories

Answer 4

DRM PARADIGM * Named after Deese, Roediger and McDermott. * Recall words semantically associated with list words (e.g., sleep), that aren’t included in list ○ Related through concept ○ Make connections between list words and this associated word, leading to memory error. § Like to take short cuts- leads to memory error * Background knowledge helps to link together the list of words according to a theme, which aids recall. When we need perform the task- doesn’t mean it is accurate.

Answer 5

* Memories easily distorted by misleading information presented afterwards * Source misattribution ○ A memory probe (e.g., a question) activates memory traces with overlapping information § Probe the memory to activate memory traces. ○ Need to decide on the source of activated information § What is the source of the attribution? Misattribution occurs when memories from one source resemble those from another

Answer 6

* Participants shown a film of a car accident * Actually travelling 12 mph. “How fast were the cars going when they [...] into each other?” * Had 5 different verbs that were shown to participants. ○ SMASHED: Estimated speed = 41mph (due to perceived higher speed, greater contact) HIT: Estimated speed = 34mph (due to lower perceived speed) * One week later, asked (2nd condition) “Did you see any broken glass?” * SMASHED: Yes = 34% (misattribution effect) * HIT: Yes = 14% ○ Demonstrates that memory is fragile – can be distorted by changing just one word! § No broken glass shown in the video. Misattribution effect was higher for the smashed condition rather than the hit condition.

Answer 7

* Unusual= arranged for people to have a stressful experience. ○ Teach them what it would be like if they were ever captured as a prisoner of war. ○ Have to identify who it was who conducted the investigation § When led to believe it was someone, often got it wrong= misinformation effect Shows wen you provide misinformation about an event, it can distort memory.

Answer 8

* Memory influenced by observer’s prior expectations * Various different forms: ○ Confirmation bias ○ Other-race effect ○ Unconscious transference ○ Age Weapon focus

Answer 9

* Tendency to recall information in a way that confirms pre-existing beliefs * Helps fill in gaps and make reasonable assumptions about what has happened * Schemas can lead us to form specific expectations ○ assume something must have happened due to our typical belief of an event. ○ Packets of knowledge stored in long-term memory ○ Cause us to reconstruct events based on... “what must have been true”

Answer 10

* Participants shown film of a simulated bank robbery * Recalled information relevant to bank robbery schema ○ Robbers were male, wore disguises and demanded money ○ Generic information that is perceived to have occurred * Less likely to recall information irrelevant to schema Colour of getaway car- didn’t know what it was due to it not being perceived relevant.

Answer 11

* Eyewitness identification from line-ups typically depends on face recognition * However, often fallible- prone to error ○ Unconscious transference: misidentify a familiar (but innocent) face as being person responsible § Recognise the face from somewhere, incorrectly judge them to be responsible. ○ Other-race effect: recognition for same-race faces generally more accurate than other-race faces § Recognition for same race faces is more accurate because it is based upon a familiarity reason. ○ Own-age bias: more accurate when culprit is similar age to witness More accurate with same age due to familiarity with those who are the same age as us- more accurate recognition.

Answer 12

* Anxiety and stress generally impair memory ○ Causes a narrowing of attention on important stimuli - tunnel vision attention. § Reduces ability to remember peripheral details - wider information * Weapon focus = attend to weapon, reducing memory for other information Attend to unexpected stimuli inconsistent with schema of that situation

Answer 13

use the cognitive interview technique

Answer 14

○ Increases information obtained and it effective. 1. Mental reinstatement of the environment- what happened on the day, draw upon the 5 senses 2. Encourage the reporting of every detail- even things that aren't important, can trigger another memory of the event- encourage full report 3. Describe the incident in several different orders- start in the middle or work backwards, enhance the accuracy. 4. Report the incident from different viewpoints- as the witness, victim, criminal etc. * Stages 1 & 2 are based on the encoding specificity principle- overlap or match of context in which the event was witnessed (take them back to the place?) relive it- more likely to accurately recall info. * Stages 3 & 4 are based on different retrieval routes * encoding specificity princliple * different retrieval routes

Answer 15

Studies show that the longer it takes an eyewitness to decide if the perpetrator is in a line-up, the less confident they actually are about their decision Eyewitnesses typically take several minutes to point out the perpetrator because they often feel pressured to choose the correct one

Memory Disorders Flashcards

week 4 (39 cards)