1) Read this article from BBC News following the wrongful killing of Jean Charles de Menezes in London. Based upon this research and your summaries of other key research should EWT be used in court? Your views in the comments section please.
2) In the video below what factors are likely to effect their ability to accurately testify in a court?
(This is a useful series of videos creating a more ecologically valid version of different experiments we have studied - the volunteers believe they are on a lunchbreak from helping Manchester Police - everyone else in the bar are actors).
i reckon that we should use eyewitness testimonies as they help in a lot of cases but we should use them carefully
ReplyDeleteThis shows just how unreliable eye witness testimony is and it shouldnt be the only thing used to solve a case.
ReplyDelete-Caitlin
Eyewitnesses are not very reliable as false memories can be implanted by asking leading questions.
ReplyDeleteAlso the memory of an eyewitness can be affected age, weapon focus and anxiety level. People generally find it hard to remember details about people of a different age to them, for example an elderly person may find it difficult to remember a young attacker. If a weapon is involved ther focus will be drawn to this so less or no detail will be remembered about the surroundings and/or attacker. The Yerkes-Dobson curve shows that performance (memory) is determined by anxiety levels, low anxiety results in low performance, as anxiety increases so does performance until a critical point when anxiety gets too high and performance starts to deteriorate.
Lauren, Rebecca and Beth (and Sam Hammond :) lol)
I think that this is cheating a bit ladies (and Sam). Points scored for collaborating to develop a (more) detailed answer though. The next contributor may wish to give a little more detail on why some think memory can be affected by age, anxiety etc... Making reference to Yerkes Dodson is absolutely the correct kind of reference to make.
ReplyDeletewell memory can be affected by age as when you are younger it is likely that you may create false memories for reasons such as trying to impress whos questioning you. However on the other end of the scale the older generations have worser memory and so will struggle to remember the events taking place. Also when you are in a formal situation like a courtroom you may feel intimidated when questioned and forget things that happened. False memories may also come into play here. You also have to have the right amount of interest in the subject to remember it more. Yerkes Dodsons law states how being either too aroused or not aroused enough can affect what you remember. but in the middle is just right.
ReplyDeletematt plumb
Matt u are such a know it all. even if that piece u wrote was rather inersting. Also your effectness to recall information may be effectied by where or not you suffered and stress from the situation. E.G. if you witnessed a car crash and you son was at the wheel, it is possible that you will not be able to recall accuret data of the insdence because you are worried for your son.
ReplyDeleteAlex Stribley
Eyewitness testimonies should be used in court because they may offer vital information for a case. However, many things can affect eyewitness testimonies. Age is a big factor, as younger witnesses are more likely to create false memories, to conform with the questioner. Also, older witnesses are less likely to remember things, especially if the accused is younger.
ReplyDeleteAlso, weapon anxiety plays a part because people will tend to focus on the weapon, rather than on the offenders face. This is called The Weapon Focus Effectn or Attention Narrowing. This could make the eyewitness testimony inaccurate.
However, Yuille and Cutshall found that people faced with real life situations remember more accurate information. Maddie
I think EWT should be used in court because it can give vital information, especially if the EWT is accurate. However, EWT should not be used as the basis of evidence in a court just in case that the information given is inaccurate. Inaccuracy can occur due to many factors, such as age and the situation itself. If the situation is stressful and creates anxiety peoples recall wont be great and also the weapon can take focus away from the criminal. Also false memorys can form and the questions asked by police officers can put ideas in peoples minds.
ReplyDelete-Jess A
I think Eye Witness Testimony should be used to a certain extent in court. If a group of people who were present when the accident happened are interviewed and asked what happened, they will say what they saw or what they think they saw. If a good number of people are questioned, the investigator will be able to see which details come up regularly and a conclusion of what might have happened can be drawn from this. Obviously if only one person is questioned, the chances are, the information will be unreliable but the more people asked, the more likely it is to get a more detailed account of the accident. Without EWT no one would have any idea as to what took place, however, it should only be used as an additional factor and not be completely relied upon in court.
ReplyDeleteI think eye witness shouldnt be used as people can believe false memories just by reading or speaking to someone. The media can easily portray a certain viewpoint, if the witness was to see this their whole memory of the event can be obscured. Another reason is because police can use leading question to get the answer/result wanted . This is shown in the experiment done by Loftus and Parmer.
ReplyDeleteI think eyewitness testamony should be used in court but depending on the mental state of the person after the crime, as depending on how stress the person was/is the more likely they are to create false memorys. I think if groups of people are questionsed to what they think they saw and similar EWT's are being told, the more likey it is that whats being said is accurate. I think EWT in court should be done by children as they are more likey to get it wrong and have false memorys. Sam rashleigh
ReplyDeleteEyewitness testimony, should be used in a court case, but not as sufficient evidence. I think this because if a person recalls the event wrong, which in most cases happens, then the person to be convicted could be wrongly accused. However, the use of EWT is vital for police to get a lead on who their suspect is, but this can also lead to the issues of false recall. Such things like stress, situation pressure, media involvement, and conferring with other, all effect a persons recall. A person who has been in this/a simular situation, would focus on the gun first, as it is the main point of stress, this can cause anxiety, and panic. Other influences, such as age can also be an effect, as a younger person is less likely to remember an elderly persons actions, whereas they are more likely to remember a younger persons actions, and visa versa. Another effect, is arousel levels, which can cause false recall (if too aroused/not aroused) as told by Yerkes-Dobson.
ReplyDelete-Jasmine-
Eyewitness testimony could be used to support a piece of secure evidence but shouldn't be used as the sole source of evidence in a conviction as memory can be altered by certain situations. These situations include stress/anxiety, leading questions, the presence of a weapon and conferring the information seen with others.
ReplyDeleteIf leading questions are asked the witnesss assumes they saw what they are being asked about so their memory reconstructs the event to involve this scenario. This is shown in Loftus and Palmer's reconstruction of an automobile accident.
When conferring with others. witnesses may 'remember' things that this witness saw.
Lauren