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Reliability of eye witness testimony
One factor that affects accuracy of memory
Eye witness testimony essay
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Eye-Witness Testimony
Until now we have focused upon theoretical psychology that employ
methods that are removed from real life. Neisser was one psychologist
who criticized his fellow psychologists for concentrating too much on
theoretical concepts and ignoring the practical issues involved about
memory. It is memory from real life experiences that psychologists
must concentrate on and one aspect of this is known as the eyewitness
testimony.
Reliability of Eyewitness Testimony
-----------------------------------
It is without doubt that eyewitnesses to a crime are one of the most
important people to the police when trying to get a conviction but we
must remember that sometimes they can be un-reliable. Sometimes we
cannot recall the exact events that surround the incident or sometimes
it can be distorted so that details are lost or inaccurate ones added.
In real life it is not necessary to precisely recall specific things
in order to use them in every day life e.g. we do not need to remember
exactly what a 10p piece looks like in order to use it to buy a sweet.
In other words there are many areas in everyday memory that we do not
need to recall exactly.
Reconstructive Memory
---------------------
Reconstructive memory basically means what affect the event had on us
rather than the precise details surrounding it. However we must
remember that reminiscing on particular events can lead to them being
distorted through our prior knowledge and expectations and so care
must be taken in dealing with reconstructive memory.
Bartlett (1932) carried out pioneering research in this field and it
was his findings t...
... middle of paper ...
...tion is viewed as un-reliable partly because of
the surprise element involved when witnessing a crime and partly
because the individuals are removed from the context in which they
originally witnessed the crime. It seems that in most crimes the face
of the perpetrator is not the focus of attention. In order to increase
the accuracy in which we recall things we need greater exposure to
them from different angles because our memory for familiar faces has a
more 3-D quality about it.
Eyewitness Summary
==================
Although it is possible under certain circumstances that people can
recall certain events vividly and in accurate detail eyewitness
accounts can be unreliable. It is therefore important for
psychologists to investigate the reason why inaccuracies arise and to
suggest ways they may improve.
Since the carnival would be closed Christmas Eve, Emily invited the boys and Edward C. to her house for cocoa and molasses cookies. Jubilantly, Her invitation was accept. Immediately, ideas for presents to give Emily were devised. Joey believed a box of candy was suitable for this occasion, but Josh wanted to offer something more feminine. At one of the concession stands, bottles of perfume were being sold, and Josh wanted to purchase one for Emily. However, Edward C., being a very practical man, decided it would be best that he, Josh, and Joey each give ten dimes, tied in a brightly colored box, that Emily could use for a practical
The use of eyewitness statements and testimony’s can be a great source of information, but can also lead to wrongful convictions. Due to eyewitness testimony, innocent people are convicted of crimes they have not committed. This is why the wording of a question is important to consider when interviewing witnesses. Due to the fact that eyewitness testimony can be the most concrete evidence in an investigation, witnesses may feel they are helping an officer by giving them as much information as possible, therefore they may tell them information that is not entirely true, just to please them. This is why there are advantages and disadvantages to using open and close ended questioning at different durations of an interview. The way you word a question may impact the memory of a witness, this is because a person cannot completely memorize the exact occurrences of an event.
Psychological research shows that eyewitness testimony is not always accurate, therefore it should not be used in the criminal justice system. Discuss.
a description in which you may be able to define the uses of these in our every day
In the last forty years, there has been a shift in courtroom proceedings. Lawyers are not only focusing their evidence on the scientific aspects of an event, but also on those who may have witnessed the actual event as well. Recently, the number of eyewitness appearances in the courtroom has increased, making statements about either a crime or an event that occurred in their presence. But how does the courtroom decide who is a legitimate witness to an event? Too often, age, race, education, and socio-economics play a major role in this decision. Here, we will discuss the age aspect of this problem in terms of child eyewitness testimony and it's implications in the courtroom.
During the identification and prosecution of a suspect, eyewitnesses are the most important. Eyewitness testimony needs to be reliable as it can have serious implications to the perceived guilt or innocence of a defendant. Unfortunately, the reliability of eyewitness testimony is questionable because there is a high number of eyewitness misidentification. Rattner (1988) studied 205 cases and concluded that eyewitness misidentification was the factor most often associated with wrongful conviction (52%). Eyewitness testimony can be affected by many factors. A substantial literature demonstrates own group biases in eyewitness testimony. For example, the own-race bias, in which people are better at recognizing faces of their own race versus another
There has been considerable debate worldwide, regarding the accuracy of eyewitness testimony in the criminal justice system. Particularly, arguments have surrounded wrongful convictions that have resulted from incorrect eyewitness evidence (Areh, 2011; Howitt, 2012; Nelson, Laney, Bowman-Fowler, Knowles, Davis & Loftus, 2011). The purpose of this essay is to consider psychological research about the accuracy of eyewitness testimony and its placement in the criminal justice system. Firstly, this essay will define how eyewitnesses and their testimonies are used within the criminal justice system and the current debate surrounding its usage. Secondly, the impact of post-identification feedback will be used to show the affect on the confidence of a witness. Thirdly, studies around gender related differences will show how a witnesses gender can affect memory recall and accuracy. Fourthly, empirical studies will be used to highlight how a psychological experience called change blindness can cause mistakes in eyewitness identification. Finally, the effect of cross-examination will be used to explore the impact on eyewitness accuracy. It will be argued, that eyewitness testimony is not accurate and highly subjective, therefore, the criminal justice system must reduce the impact that eyewitness testimony is allowed to have. Developing better policies and procedures to avoid wrongful convictions by misled judges and jury members can do this.
In the court of law, eyewitnesses are expected to present evidence based upon information they acquired visually. However, due to memory processing, presenting this information accurately is not always possible. This paper will discuss the reliability of eyewitness testimony, its use in a relevant court case, and how the reasonable person standard relates to eyewitness testimony.
The use of eyewitnesses has been a constant in of criminal justice system since its very beginning. Unfortunately, people do not make the best witnesses to a crime. The person may not have seen the actual criminal, but someone that looks similar to them. The witness may lie about what he or she may have scene. Also the witness can be influenced by the police as to who or what they saw at the time of the crime. The witness or victims memory of the person may have faded so that they don’t remember exactly what had seen, which could be disastrous for the accused.
did they see a barn (which was not in the incident). Only 2.7 % gave
Eyewitness identification and testimony play a huge role in the criminal justice system today, but skepticism of eyewitnesses has been growing. Forensic evidence has been used to undermine the reliability of eyewitness testimony, and the leading cause of false convictions in the United States is due to misidentifications by eyewitnesses. The role of eyewitness testimony in producing false confessions and the factors that contribute to the unreliability of these eyewitness testimonies are sending innocent people to prison, and changes are being made in order to reform these faulty identification procedures.
“The bedrock of the American judicial process is the honesty of witness in trial,” (Engelhardt, 1999, p. 25). Eyewitnesses have become the most critical piece in uncovering the truth about a crime and are heavily relied on by the criminal justice system. They play a vital role in identifying, charging, and ultimately convicting a suspected criminal. This is why it is extremely important that the eyewitness evidence be accurate and reliable.
Eyewitness identification is ineffective and ultimately unjust. Studies have shown that approximately 40% of eyewitness identifications are wrong (Vrij, 1998). Eyewitness identification is given great importance in the legal system. As such, the most accurate and least influential process on witness’s decisions is required. This essay examines the three main types of eyewitness line-ups; the showup, the sequential and the simultaneous lineup. This essay then concludes which is the best and which should be implemented in the legal system. This answers the question how should line-ups be conducted.
Eyewitness Misidentification Under state law, perjury is defined as knowingly giving a false statement before a court of law, after taking an oath. However, what happens when an eyewitness unknowingly presents false information during trial? By law, this is legal and according to the Innocence Project, 73% of overturned convictions due to DNA testing were based on false eyewitness accounts. False eyewitness accounts are caused by a variety of effects related to memory distortion/manipulation; one of the most common being the misidentification effect. Nevertheless, there are precautionary measures that can be taken in order to preserve eyewitness memory and improve eyewitness identification all together.
etc. I always learn something no matter what it is always stays in my mind; on the other hand,