Eyewitness memory

Eye-Witness Memory and Suggestibility In Children With Asperger Syndrome

by Lucy Henry

McCrory, E., Henry, L.A. & Happé, F. (2007). Eyewitness memory and suggestibility in children with Asperger syndrome. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 48, 482-489.

Background: Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) present with a particular profile of memory deficits,... more Background: Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) present with a particular profile of memory deficits, executive dysfunction and impaired social interaction that may raise concerns about their recall and reliability in forensic and legal contexts. Extant studies of memory shed limited light on this issue as they involved either laboratory-based tasks or protocols that varied between participants.
Method: The current study used a live classroom event to investigate eye-witness recall and suggestibility in children with Asperger syndrome (AS group; N = 24) and typically developing children (TD group; N = 27). All participants were aged between 11 and 14 years and were interviewed using a structured protocol. Two measures of executive functioning were also administered.
Results: The AS group were found to be no more suggestible and no less accurate than their peers. However, free recall elicited less information, including gist, in the AS group. TD, but not AS, participants tended to focus on the socially salient aspects of the scene in their free recall. Both general and specific questioning elicited similar numbers of new details in both groups. Significant correlations were found between memory recall and executive functioning performance in the AS group only.
Conclusions: The present study indicates that children with AS can act as reliable witnesses but they may be more reliant on questioning to facilitate recall. Our findings also provide evidence for poor gist memory. It is speculated that such differences stem from weak central coherence and lead to a reliance on generic cognitive processes, such as executive functions, during recall. Future studies are required to investigate possible differences in compliance, rates of forgetting and false memory.

Keywords: Asperger syndrome, autistic disorder, memory, eye-witness, suggestibility, executive function.

Individual and Developmental Differences In Eyewitness Recall and Suggestibility In Children With Intellectual Disabilities

by Lucy Henry

Henry, L.A. & Gudjonsson, G.H. (2007). Individual and developmental differences in eyewitness memory and suggestibility in children with intellectual disabilities. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 21, 361-381.

This study examined two key issues: (1) whether there were developmental improvements in eyewitness memory performance... more This study examined two key issues: (1) whether there were developmental improvements in eyewitness memory performance for children with intellectual disabilities (ID); and (2) whether standardised measures of cognitive ability and suggestibility would relate to eyewitness recall and suggestibility. Children with ID and age-matched controls (ages 8/9 and 12 years) watched a video of a crime and were asked a range of open-ended and specific questions about the event in a subsequent interview. Free recall increased between the two age levels for children with and without ID, but at a faster rate for those without ID. For other question types, differences in performance between children with and without ID were far more marked than age differences. Standardised measures of interrogative suggestibility (Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale, GSS), verbal IQ, non-verbal IQ, mental age and speed of information processing were related to eyewitness performance. In particular, higher eyewitness recall scores (free recall, non-leading specific questions) were related to higher scores on the standardised GSS free recall measure; and higher eyewitness suggestibility scores were related to higher scores on the standardised GSS suggestibility measures. Mental age was a better predictor of performance on a range of eyewitness memory question types than verbal or nonverbal IQ; and speed of information processing showed some relationships with eyewitness performance.

The Effects of Memory Trace Strength on Eyewitness Recall In Children With and Without Intellectual Disabilities

by Lucy Henry

Henry, L.A. & Gudjonsson, G.H. (2004). The effects of memory trace strength on eyewitness recall in children with and without intellectual disabilities. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 89, 53-71.

Children with mild moderate intellectual disabilities (ID) were compared with typically developing peers of the same... more Children with mild moderate intellectual disabilities (ID) were compared with typically developing peers of the same chronological age (CA) on an eyewitness memory task in which
memory trace strength was manipulated to examine whether increased memory trace strength would benefit those with ID more than those without ID. No evidence was found for this claim or for the notion that different mechanisms are implicated in memory processes for children with ID versus CA controls. Fuzzy-trace theory was also used to contrast question types that
probed verbatim memory versus gist memory. Manipulations of trace strength, when used with immediate recall (to reduce the impact of decay), were predicted to improve verbatim memory more than gist memory. The results broadly supported the predictions. Performance was not improved in the stronger trace strength condition on measures of recall that tapped
gist memory (e.g., open-ended recall), whereas performance was signifcantly better in the stronger trace strength condition on two of the three measures of recall that tapped verbatim
memory (i.e., closed misleading questions, open-ended speciWc questions). Differences in performance between the groups were quite marked on several question types, supporting previous findings that those with ID have certain vulnerabilities as potential witnesses compared with peers of the same CA.

Child and Adult Witnesses With Intellectual Disability: The Importance of Suggestibility

by Lucy Henry

Gudjonsson, G.H. & Henry, L.A. (2003). Child and adult witnesses with intellectual disability: The importance of suggestibility. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 8, 241-252.

Eyewitness Memory, Suggestibility, and Repeated Recall Sessions In Children With Mild and Moderate Intellectual Disabilities

by Lucy Henry

Henry, L.A. & Gudjonsson, G.H. (2003). Eyewitness memory, suggestibility and repeated recall sessions in children with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities. Law and Human Behavior, 27, 481-505.

This study of eyewitness memory questioned children with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities (ID) about a live... more This study of eyewitness memory questioned children with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities (ID) about a live staged event 1 day later and, again, 2 weeks later. Children with mild ID performed as well as typically-developing children of the same
age in response to free recall instructions, and they were just as able as same age peers to resist misleading questions. However, they performed more poorly on general questions,
probing for further information after free recall. The children with mild ID also changed their responses to specific questions more often in the repeated interview. The group of children with moderate ID showed markedly lower performance than peers of
the same age on nearly every type of eyewitness memory question. Comparisons of the children with ID to mental age-matched peers indicated that performance was similar,
although children with ID gave more information in response to free recall instructions and changed their answers in the repeated interview more often. Standardized measures of verbal memory (TOMAL) and suggestibility (Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale) were modest to moderate predictors of eyewitness memory performance.

Eyewitness Memory and Suggestibility In Children With Mental Retardation

by Lucy Henry

Henry, L.A. & Gudjonsson, G.H. (1999). Eyewitness memory and suggestibility in children with mental retardation. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 104, 491-508.

A Mechanism for Multidisciplinary Dialogue: The Memory & . . . Series

by Hilton Kelly

Confidence-accuracy calibration with general knowledge and eyewitness memory cued recall questions

by Karlos Luna

Luna, K. & Martín-Luengo, B. (2012). Confidence-accuracy calibration with general knowledge and eyewitness memory cued recall questions. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 26, 289-295.

The confidence-accuracy relationship has primarily been studied through recognition tests and correlation analysis.... more The confidence-accuracy relationship has primarily been studied through recognition tests and correlation analysis. However, cued recall is more ecological from a forensic perspective. Moreover, there may be more informative ways of analysing the confidence-accuracy relationship than correlations. In the present study participants viewed a video of a bank robbery and were asked cued recall questions covering general knowledge and the video itself. Confidence ratings were collected, and correlations, calibration and discrimination measures were calculated. All measures indicated a strong confidence-accuracy relationship which was better for general knowledge than eyewitness memory questions. However, there were no differences in confidence ratings for correct answers, suggesting that the differences could be limited to the evaluation of incorrect answers. We concluded that confidence may be a good marker for accuracy with cued recall, but that further research using ecological tests and more informative data analysis techniques is needed.

Regulation of memory accuracy with multiple answers: The plurality option

by Karlos Luna

Luna, K., Higham, P. A., & Martín-Luengo, B. (2011). Regulation of memory accuracy with multiple answers: The plurality option. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 17, 148-158.

Children's Eyewitness Suggestibility: Memory Trace Strength Revisited

by Karen Douglas

Holliday, R.E., Douglas, K.M. & Hayes, B.K. (1999). Children’s eyewitness suggestibility: Memory trace strength revisited. Cognitive Development, 14, 443-462.

Delay and age effects on identification accuracy and confidence: an investigation using a video identification parade

by Catriona Havard

Own-age bias in video lineups: a comparison between children and adults

by Catriona Havard

A field evaluation of the VIPER system: A new technique for eliciting eyewitness identification evidence.

by Catriona Havard

A comparison of video and static photo lineups with child and adolescent witnesses.

by Catriona Havard

The influence of face age on identification from a video line-up: A comparison between older and younger adults.

by Catriona Havard

The Headscarf Effect: Direct Evidence from the Eyewitness Identification Paradigm

by Catriona Havard

Can fabricated evidence induce false eyewitness testimony?

by Robert Nash

Wade, K. A., Green, S. L., & Nash, R. A. (2010). Can fabricated evidence induce false eyewitness testimony? Applied Cognitive Psychology, 24, 899-908.

False information can influence people's beliefs and memories. But can fabricated evidence induce individuals to... more False information can influence people's beliefs and memories. But can fabricated evidence induce individuals to accuse another person of doing something they never did? We examined whether exposure to a fabricated video could produce false eyewitness testimony. Subjects completed a gambling task alongside a confederate subject, and later we falsely told subjects that their partner had cheated on the task. Some subjects viewed a digitally manipulated video of their partner cheating; some were told that video evidence of the cheating exists; and others were not told anything about video evidence. Subjects were asked to sign a statement confirming that they witnessed the incident and that their corroboration could be used in disciplinary action against the accused. See-video subjects were three times more likely to sign the statement than Told-video and Control subjects. Fabricated evidence may, indeed, produce false eyewitness testimony; we discuss probable cognitive mechanisms. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

REVIEW of Jesus and the Eyewitnesses (by Richard Bauckham)

by Sara Parks Ricker

Review of Jesus and the Eyewitnesses (by Richard Bauckham) in Arc: The Journal of the Faculty of Religious Studies, McGill University, 2007.

Response Latency as a Predictor of the Accuracy of Children’s Reports

by Rakefet Ackerman

Researchers have explored various diagnostic cues to the accuracy of information provided by child eyewitnesses.... more Researchers have explored various diagnostic cues to the accuracy of information provided by child eyewitnesses. Previous studies indicated that children's confidence in their reports predicts the relative accuracy of these reports, and that the confidence-accuracy relationship generally improves as children grow older. In this study, we examined the added contribution of response latency to the prediction of children’s accuracy over and above that of confidence ratings. In Experiments 1 and 2, 2nd and 5th graders studied picture-event pairs, and were tested using forced-choice, 2-alternative or 5-alternative questions. In Experiment 3, children watched a slideshow depicting a story, and were tested by 5-alternative questions about story details. The children indicated their confidence in each response, and response latency was measured. The results of all experiments suggested that children in both age groups relied on response latency as a cue for confidence, and this reliance contributed to the success with which they monitored the accuracy of their reports. When the test format was easy (Experiment 1), 2nd graders were as accurate as 5th graders in monitoring the accuracy of their answers, and the latency of their responses was no less predictive of accuracy. When the task was more difficult, age differences emerged. Nevertheless, in all experiments and for both age groups, response latency was found to have added value for predicting accuracy over and above that of confidence. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings for predicting the accuracy of children’s reports are discussed.

Earwitness Memory: Effects of Facial Concealment on the Face Overshadowing Effect

by Keeley Moore

International Journal of Advance Science and Technology. Vol 33, 2011.

The face overshadowing effect (FOE) has been noted in cases where recognition of voices is impaired if they are... more The face overshadowing effect (FOE) has been noted in cases where recognition of voices is impaired if they are presented simultaneous to a face at encoding. The current study investigated the effect of facial concealment  (with and without wearing a balaclava) and emotionality of vocal tone on the face overshadowing effect in voice identification. It was predicted that the FOE would be reduced in the case of presentation of a concealed face along with voices, as the lack of facial feature information would result in greater attention being paid to the voice. It was further anticipated that angry voices would attract more attention and result in better voice recognition and reductions in the FOE than neutral voices, as hostile voices represent a level of threat that captures attention analogous to the weapon focus effect in eyewitness memory. Results replicated the FOE in a voice plus face video presentation but, contrary to  expectations; a concealed face presentation also
demonstrated a FOE, with highest accuracy of voice identification in the voice only condition. Angry vocal tone had a slight tendency to result in better recognition of voices across groups and somewhat improve performance in the visual conditions. It was concluded that voice identification is as fallible and prone to error as eyewitness identification but that conditions where the voice is made salient and visual information is absent result in higher accuracy. Implications for the criminal justice system are discussed.