Eyewitness memory for a touching experience: accuracy differences between child and adult witnesses

Article Abstract:

Children, ages 5-6 and 9-10 years, and adults spent 6 min with a man (toucher) who administered a test that required interpersonal touch. The test was briefly interrupted by a woman (intruder). Afterward, the participant-witnesses provided a memory report that included free recall, answers to objective-memory questions, and two lineup identifications. Relative to the adults and older children, the 5- to 6-year-olds gave less complete free recall and made more errors in answering objective questions about the features and actions of the toucher and the intruder. On recognition tests, both the 5- to 6- and 9- to 10-year-olds were somewhat less likely than adults to make accurate lineup decisions about the toucher and much less likely to accurately identify the briefly seen intruder. Children may remember even salient stimuli and actions more poorly than adults do, but there was no evidence than children misremembered touches that did not occur. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Touch, Children as witnesses, Child witnesses

---

Some effects of alcohol on eyewitness memory

Article Abstract:

Male volunteers (N = 120) in small groups of 5 to 10 watched a staged theft involving live actors. Some (n = 47) were under the influence of alcohol (average blood alcohol level of .10) at the time. Some subjects (n = 58) were interviewed immediately after the event, and all were interviewed 1 week later. The delayed interview included the presentation of a photospread that either did or did not contain pictures of the 'thief.' Alcohol suppressed the amount recalled during the immediate interview and both the amount and accuracy of recall after the 1-week delay. Alcohol had no influence on the ability of witnesses to recognize the thief's picture. When the thief's picture was not present in the photospread, however, alcohol increased the rate of false identifications. An immediate interview substantially improved the amount of information subjects were able to recall 1 week later. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Alcohol, Ethanol, Alcohol in the body

---

A case study of eyewitness memory of a crime

Article Abstract:

Most eyewitness studies have involved videotapes or staged incidents, but these research situations are substantially different from real situations. However, when 21 individuals witnessed a shooting on a major public street in the afternoon, 13 agreed to participate in research interviews four to five months after the event occurred. The interviews demonstrate few changes in testimony months after the initial statements were taken. Witness testimonies were found to be error-prone in areas involving color memory and estimations of age, height and weight. The level of stress experienced shortly after the occurrence did not seem to affect the accuracy of the testimony.

Evidence, Criminal, Criminal evidence

Similar abstracts:

• Abstracts: Memory factors in advertising: the effect of advertising retrieval cues on brand evaluations. Consumer learning: advertising and the ambiguity of product experience
• Abstracts: Elaborating on elaboration: the distinction between relational and item-specific elaboration. The effect of knowledge, motivation, and type of message on ad processing and product judgements
• Abstracts: Efficacy beliefs and work stress: an exploratory study. Formal mentoring versus supervisor and coworker relationships: differences in perceptions and impact
• Abstracts: Why the paraphilias? Domesticating strange sex. Social structure and sex-role choices among children in four cultures
• Abstracts: An exercise design approach to understanding assessment center dimension and exercise constructs. A warning about the use of a standard deviation across dimensions within ratees to measure halo

This website is not affiliated with document authors or copyright owners. This page is provided for informational purposes only. Unintentional errors are possible.