How Much We Can Trust on Eye-Witness Testimony - Research Paper Example

? False Memories: How Much We Can Trust on Eye-Witness Testimony Introduction Cognitive psychologists have identified that people have a tendency to develop memories that didn’t actually occur in reality. People sometimes might actually think they have experienced a certain event but in reality it is just a part of their imagination. The phenomenon is termed as false memories. It is a well researched topic in the field of cognitive psychology and it has significant implications in the field of criminal justice. Eye witness testimonies often become the basis for judgment in a case and this is why it is essential to know whether an eye witness is telling the truth or not. A person might be extremely honest but can effectively give a false testimony on the basis of a false memory. He might actually feel that he has experienced an event due to false memories. In this paper, the concept of false memories will be explored in general, firstly. Secondly, the concept of false memories will be applied to the field of criminal justice and specifically to witness testimonies. False Memories: Can a Person Lie Honestly? False memories are defined as an occurrence or an event that is vivid in one’s memory but didn’t occur in real life. These are simply memories that are not real but can be vividly recalled by the person. The interesting thing about false memories is that often people can remember an instance of past in great detail but their memory is not real. There is empirical evidence that false memories can make people remember things that never happened (Roediger III & McDermott, 1995). False or inaccurate memory is an interesting subject for cognitive psychologists. There are many different reasons behind creation of false memories in human beings. Humans are susceptible creatures as we are influenced by environment and the people around us. Our mind processes a wide range of information on a regular basis and this is why we can easily mix two completely different memories together. Sometimes previous knowledge can influence a memory. Tragic and traumatic events are often the main reason behind false memories. The memories are nothing but an attempt of the brain to ease of the pain of traumatic events. A dejected person might also exaggerate his or her trauma in their minds and in turn create false memories. But usually false memories are nothing but a natural process that human beings use to protect their self esteem and reinvent pleasant memories in order to savor them. Rosy retrospection is a good example of false memory as it is just an attempt of our brain to exaggerate pleasure gained from past events (Myers, 2004). People usually rate their past travel trips, college days, and honeymoon etc very highly all their lives because these memories are soothing and tell them what a good life they have spent. Another aspect that plays a role in building of false memories is pre-existing prejudice or bias. Many a time people often are quick to remember memories that confirm their pre-existing beliefs. Events are often recalled that strengthen the biases of a person and this recall is based on false memories. We believe from our heart that an event which affirms our existing bias is true. This is also a main reason behind false memories. False memories are also influenced by suggestions from other people. When hear people say different especially those who are really close to us for example our family, relatives, and friends, we tend to believe them and this also plays a role in many of our false memories. Often childhood memories that we think we have are actually inaccurate and come to us only because we have heard them from our parents or relatives. The suggestions from a credible source are sometimes more than enough to build up a false memory. False Memories and Eye-Witness Testimony The information discussed above regarding false memory casts a serious doubt over eye-witness testimonies that are commonly used to decide upon the criminal trials. Eye-witnesses can be prone to false memories and if this is true then how can anyone believe the testimony of any eye-witness. Forensic psychologists often work closely with the law enforcement agencies and criminal justice department in order to ensure that eye-witness accounts are genuine so that no innocent person is sentenced wrongly. The biases and prejudice of a person can play a great role in influencing one’s memories and, therefore, it is important to make sure that the person testifying is stating actual events. It is easy to become influenced by the suggestions of a lawyer or a policemen when identifying a suspect or reporting a crime. Many times people subconsciously tend to agree with law enforcement officers regarding the details of an event. This makes it extremely difficult to accurately identifying whether a person is recalling something real. The job of forensic psychologists is not just to detect a liar. False memories are often very detailed and the person describing is able to provide even small details of the event he has experienced. People who develop false memories are not lying because they genuinely believe in what they have experienced. This is why a range of techniques are used to differentiate accurate testimonies from ‘manufactured memories’. Psychologists can, for example, look at personal biases of a person in order to predict whether a person is not a victim of false memories. Other techniques can also be used to differentiate between accurate and inaccurate testimonies. Expert often compare accounts from different people in order to corroborate testimony of a witness and make sure he or she is giving factual account of the event. Human memory is so susceptible that even suggestions from a lawyer during questioning can lead to false memory recall (Arkowitz & Lilienfeld, 2010). Eye-witnesses are often questioned by lawyers and this can lead them towards a certain answer. People are also quick to point out people who have displayed bad behavior in the past because they see them as criminals (Arkowitz & Lilienfeld, 2011). This is where biases and prejudice of a person play a role. Past record of a suspect is therefore often an important talking point in any trial and lawyers use this to influence jury members. Age is another factor that plays a role in eye-witness testimony. People of older ages are more likely to construct false memories than people of young ages (Cohen & Faulkner, 1989). This is mainly because old people tend to forget the source of information and therefore are more prone to build false memories. This is one thing forensic psychologists can be careful of when evaluating an eye-witness testimony. Another interesting aspect of false memories is that people are noted to give wrong information and build false memories when they are repeatedly asked to recount the events again and again (Roediger III, Jacoby, & McDermott,1996). Psychologists should therefore rely on first accounts more than second and third accounts when it comes to evaluating eye-witness testimonies. People also often confuse or mix sources from which they receive information and this leads to false memories (Dr. Lindsay & Johnson, 1989). Source of information is sometimes difficult to accurately predict and this can increase chances of misattribution of an event. People tend to think that they have experienced a certain event but in reality these events are communicated to them from other sources. This is because the main source of information is forgotten by the people. Source of information can also be used to evaluate whether an eye-witness is telling the truth or not. Conclusion False memories can change what people believe they think they have experienced. This can have significant repercussions on criminal trials that rely heavily on eye-witness accounts. Memory is highly susceptible and can change through suggestions from other people. This is why psychologists have to remain on guard when evaluating eye-witness testimonies. People can create false memories because of their age, source of information, cross questioning, pre-existing biases, tragic events, and suggestions from friend and relatives. References Arkowitz, H., & Lilienfeld, S. (2010). Why Science Tells Us Not to Rely on Eyewitness Accounts. Scientific American. Retrieved on September 21, 2013 from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=do-the-eyes-have-it Cohen. G., & Faulkner, D. (1989). Age differences in source forgetting: Effects on reality monitoring and on eyewitness testimony. Psychology and Aging, 4(1), 10-17 Dr. Lindsay, S., & Johnson, M. (1989). The eyewitness suggestibility effect and memory for source. Memory and Cognition, 17(3), 349-358 Myers, D, G. (2004). Intuition: Its Powers and Perils. London: Yale University Press Roediger III, H, L., Jacoby, D. & McDermott, K, B. (1996). Misinformation Effects in Recall: Creating False Memories through Repeated Retrieval. Journal of Memory and Language, 35(2), 300-318 Roediger III, H, L., & McDermott, K, B. (1995). Creating false memories: Remembering words not presented in lists. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 21(4), 803-814 Read More