Storage and the Experiences of Persistence in Flashback - Research Paper Example

Running head: EYEWITNESS MEMORY 1 Eyewitness Memory Institution Name Location EYEWITNESS MEMORY 2 Abstract Eyewitness memory forms an indelible factor where life – threatening serious crimes are committed, or when accidents take place, but questions always arise as to its reliability, credibility and authenticity. Eyewitness identification is very important because it is a major contributing factor that serves to unravel mysteries that shroud serious crimes and accidents. In this research paper, an attempt is being made to explore and investigate eyewitness memory and how it may impact on a crime scene. This type of Eyewitness identification revolves around the concepts of the Cognitive Psychological Theory, (Ainsworth, p. 68) where a lot of information is gathered from the witness and which is used in the identification process. The introduction would include scientific research studies in the area of eyewitness memory and try to investigate how such eyewitness memory impacts the victims and criminals in a crime. The methodology and procedure for this research paper includes the use of participants who would be engaged in answering a questionnaire based on eyewitness memory to see how accurate they are in retrieval of information related to it. This would be followed by the collection of data and an analysis of the same. The data that is collected would be compared and contrasted between the participating groups and after analyzing the tests that were conducted, the result of eyewitness memory would be arrived at. The final part of the paper would have a detailed discussion on how the results were arrived at and the importance it plays in eyewitness memory. EYEWITNESS MEMORY 3 Eyewitness Memory This research study on Eyewitness Memory serves to be a very important component where witnessing a tragic incident or scene of crime is concerned, due to the significant role it plays and the impact it creates in different situations. Both, Short Term Memory (STM) and Long Term Memory (LTM) each have their own role to play, but how important facts are retrieved from one’s memory, always remains a challenging question. In this study, an attempt is being made to understand the important role played by the memory in relation to Eyewitness retrieval of facts and how these facts impact upon the data gathered from which conclusions are drawn. Research shows that more often than not, individuals are quite inaccurate when it comes to reporting complex situations, especially when it involves numerical data such as speed, time or distance. According to (Block, 1974 & Marshall, 1969, p. 585) People have “the tendency to overestimate the duration of events which are complex.” There are many variables that come into play and serve to influence the outcomes in question, and therefore, those retrieving such sensitive information, have to be conscious of this fact, because it could lead to inaccuracies in the final results and this could lead to further complications. EYEWITNESS MEMORY 4 It is a common fact that the manner in which a question is asked or the choice of verbs or words used to elicit information directly influences the end result because it impacts upon the person who is being asked the question, thus making him change his opinion and altering his answer. In an experimental study conducted by (Loftus & Palmer, 1974) it was found that the words used to ask questions soon after witnessing an incident had an impact on the participant and made them change their answer to the question asked. This is especially evident where complex occurrences are concerned. Even though every individual is endowed with just one memory “there are two kinds of information” (Loftus & Palmer, 1974, p. 585 – 589) that are stored in the memory. One of them is the information perceived during the occurrence of the original incident and the second kind is the external information that is grasped during an interview or interrogation from the people who are responsible in collecting relevant data about the event. Over a period of time, it becomes quite difficult to specify fro which source certain details come from. This is one of the reasons why Eyewitness memory cannot be taken at face value or taken for granted. In this study, we would try to explore the different possibilities of Eyewitness memory by engaging willing participants in answering a questionnaire based on this issue and try to analyze how certain factors influence them and alter their perception while giving information. The primary purpose of this research was to investigate how authentic and useful Eyewitness memory was in relation to crime, accidents or any such event. A proper understanding of Eyewitness memory would serve to solve many problems in these areas. EYEWITNESS MEMORY 5 I predicted that Eyewitness memory cannot be wholly relied upon because the hypothesis showed that it was not very stable. Methodology Participants In this study, we had 213 participants who had volunteered to take part in answering a questionnaire that was handed out to them. Out of the 213 participants, 183 were female and 30 were male. The Mean age (M) arrived at was 28.6, while the Standard Deviation (SD) was 9.8 following analysis. All the participants came from different cultural backgrounds and socio-economic status and approximately fell within the age group of 15 years to 30 years. Material The study made use of a questionnaire with relevant questions based on accidents that had been viewed in different audio- visual clippings. The questionnaire comprised of a list of questions involving important details of crashes they witnessed, to collect appropriate data to measure the reliability and validity of ‘Eyewitness Memory’. Some of the questions were true but some of them were not and this method served to gauge their depth of understanding and memory of participants to help measure eyewitness memory. EYEWITNESS MEMORY 6 Procedure The procedure was so designed so as to get a good cross –section of participants who were willing to take part in the study. The total number of participants that responded positively numbered 213. The female participants numbered 183 while the males were 30 in number. All the participants were asked to fill out a form of consent if they were sure of being a part of the study. The participants were randomly divided into groups of 30 each, with one of the groups having 33. Each group was shown a couple of major car crashes and soon after was handed a questionnaire which they were asked to fill out. Some of the questions asked involved the accidents they witnessed but some of the questions did not involve the crashes. The questionnaires were collected on completion and each participant was compensated for taking part in the study. Results Results from each of the randomly divided groups, after watching different clippings from accidents and filling in a questionnaire, is given below in Table 1. Two important words describing the incident were considered and taken into account. The words denoting speed of the vehicle on impact were ‘hit’ and ‘smash’. On analysis of the data collected from the questionnaire, it was found that 107 participants had chosen the word EYEWITNESS MEMORY 7 ‘hit’ while 106 others chose ‘smash’. The Mean for those choosing ‘hit’ was 66.6355 with a Std. deviation of 16.00141, while the Mean for the group choosing ‘smash’ was 73.9151 with a Std. deviation of 16.54668. Results showed that the Levene’s Test for Equality of Variances and t-test for Equality of Means showed different outcomes proving that words did have an impact in the participant’s choice of answers in the given questionnaire. Table 1 Variable A Variable B M SD M SD Men (n = 30) 28.6 9.8 Women (n = 183) T-Test Group Statistics Group N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean Speed Hit 107 66.6355 16.00141 1.54691 Smash 106 73.9151 16.54668 1.60716 EYEWITNESS MEMORY 8 Independent Samples Test Levene's Test for Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means F Sig. t df Sig. (2-tailed) Mean Difference Std. Error Difference 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Upper Speed Equal variances assumed .877 .350 -3.264 211 .001 -7.27958 2.23032 -11.67614 -2.88302 Equal variances not assumed -3.263 210.612 .001 -7.27958 2.23067 -11.67688 -2.88228 Discussion As discussed earlier in the study, the choice of words did play a major role in relation to the choice of answers by the participants. The data collected by way of questionnaires after watching various incidents supported this hypothesis that the choice of words had a direct impact on the answers given by the participants. The Cognitive Psychological Theory has it that the choice of words used, impacts upon the answers of the participants who change their opinions according to the words used to ask a question. A good example of the same are the two words ‘hit’ and ‘smash’ used for this study, that indicates the level of impact these words had on different participants. They had made their choices based on the words used in the questionnaire. EYEWITNESS MEMORY 9 In conclusion, we could say that the choice of words has the capacity to influence individuals and therefore Eyewitness memory cannot be generalized or taken for granted. Research studies have shown that in some cases that Eyewitness Memory used for identification purposes have proved to be wrong, with the results that many innocent people have been penalized while the real culprit walked free. Eyewitness memory alone is not enough for conviction for the mere fact that there are many other factors that impact and affect a person’s memory that includes the witness’s age, confidence level, and the depth and duration of focus. The study has its own limitations due to considerable irrelevance of material which serves to impact the end result. In addition, the individuals who volunteered as participants came from different economic backgrounds and walks of life and their level of thinking differed considerably and could have affected the results. My study does add to the psychological theory because it supports the same ideas despite its limitations. The recommendation would be that further research in the area of Eyewitness Memory has to be carried out and the use of more current research such as DNA testing would serve to remove many misconceptions in Eyewitness Memory. References Ainsworth, Peter B. (1998) Psychology Law and Eyewitness Testimony, Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, xii + 194pp. p. 68 Block, R. A. (1974) in Loftus & Palmer. Memory and the experiences of duration in retrospect, Memory & Cognition, Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 13, p. 585 – 589. Charles A. Morgan, III., et al., (2004) Accuracy of Eyewitness Memory. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 27, pgs. 265 – 279. Web, retrieved on 16th Sept. from www.nlada.org/.../Article-Intl%20J.%20L.%20Psy.-Accuracy%20of%20.. Loftus F. Elizabeth and Palmer C. John., (1974) Reconstruction of Automobile Destruction: An Example of the Interaction Between Language and Memory. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior. 13, p. 585 – 589. Loftus F. Elizabeth (1975) Leading Questions and the Eyewitness Report. Cognitive Psychology, 7, p. 560 – 572. Marshall., R. E. in Loftus & Palmer. (1969) Law and Psychology in Conflict. New York, Anchor Books. p. 585 – 589. Read More

This is especially evident where complex occurrences are concerned. Even though every individual is endowed with just one memory “there are two kinds of information” (Loftus & Palmer, 1974, p. 585 – 589) that are stored in the memory. One of them is the information perceived during the occurrence of the original incident and the second kind is the external information that is grasped during an interview or interrogation from the people who are responsible in collecting relevant data about the event.

Over a period of time, it becomes quite difficult to specify fro which source certain details come from. This is one of the reasons why Eyewitness memory cannot be taken at face value or taken for granted. In this study, we would try to explore the different possibilities of Eyewitness memory by engaging willing participants in answering a questionnaire based on this issue and try to analyze how certain factors influence them and alter their perception while giving information. The primary purpose of this research was to investigate how authentic and useful Eyewitness memory was in relation to crime, accidents or any such event.

A proper understanding of Eyewitness memory would serve to solve many problems in these areas. EYEWITNESS MEMORY 5 I predicted that Eyewitness memory cannot be wholly relied upon because the hypothesis showed that it was not very stable. Methodology Participants In this study, we had 213 participants who had volunteered to take part in answering a questionnaire that was handed out to them. Out of the 213 participants, 183 were female and 30 were male.

The Mean age (M) arrived at was 28.6, while the Standard Deviation (SD) was 9.8 following analysis. All the participants came from different cultural backgrounds and socio-economic status and approximately fell within the age group of 15 years to 30 years. Material The study made use of a questionnaire with relevant questions based on accidents that had been viewed in different audio- visual clippings. The questionnaire comprised of a list of questions involving important details of crashes they witnessed, to collect appropriate data to measure the reliability and validity of ‘Eyewitness Memory’.

Some of the questions were true but some of them were not and this method served to gauge their depth of understanding and memory of participants to help measure eyewitness memory. EYEWITNESS MEMORY 6 Procedure The procedure was so designed so as to get a good cross –section of participants who were willing to take part in the study. The total number of participants that responded positively numbered 213.

The female participants numbered 183 while the males were 30 in number. All the participants were asked to fill out a form of consent if they were sure of being a part of the study. The participants were randomly divided into groups of 30 each, with one of the groups having 33. Each group was shown a couple of major car crashes and soon after was handed a questionnaire which they were asked to fill out. Some of the questions asked involved the accidents they witnessed but some of the questions did not involve the crashes.

The questionnaires were collected on completion and each participant was compensated for taking part in the study. Results Results from each of the randomly divided groups, after watching different clippings from accidents and filling in a questionnaire, is given below in Table 1. Two important words describing the incident were considered and taken into account. The words denoting speed of the vehicle on impact were ‘hit’ and ‘smash’. On analysis of the data collected from the questionnaire, it was found that 107 participants had chosen the word EYEWITNESS MEMORY 7 ‘hit’ while 106 others chose ‘smash’.

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