Eyewitness Testimony

9 Key excerpts on "Eyewitness Testimony"

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  Criminological Approaches to International Criminal Law

  • Ilias Bantekas, Emmanouela Mylonaki(Authors)
  • 2014(Publication Date)
  • Cambridge University Press

    (Publisher)

  40. 32 Ibid., at para. 41. 33 Ibid., at para. 42. 34 Ibid. 35 Ibid., at para. 46. 36 Ibid., at para. 47. 37 Ibid., at para. 48. 38 Ibid. 39 Ibid. 40 Ibid. 41 Ibid., at para. 461. 162 cutler, lindsay and smith Eyewitness psychology Eyewitness psychology is the study of factors that influence eyewitness memory and decision-making for persons and events. Eyewitness psychology is an applied science in which scientists conduct research (often experiments) with an end goal of informing the legal system of how some given factor increases or decreases the reliability of eyewitness identification or recall. Eyewitness psychologists are generally interested in factors affecting the recognition and recall abilities of eyewitnesses and variables that can postdict the accuracy of eyewitnesses (e.g., confidence, response latency). To test recognition memory for persons, eyewitness psychologists and law enforcement personnel often use lineups. In a lineup the eyewitness is presented with the suspect embedded amongst fillers (i.e., known innocents) and is asked if the perpetrator is present. If the perpetrator is present the correct response is to identify the perpetrator. The eyewitness can err by identifying a filler or by rejecting the lineup. If the perpetrator is absent the correct response is to reject the lineup. The eyewitness can err by identifying a filler or the innocent suspect. Tasks of recall require individuals to describe some previously seen person or event. Psychologists and law enforcement personnel test recall memory whenever they ask eyewitnesses for descriptions of perpetrators and events. The eyewitness’s goal in description tasks is to describe the perpetrator and event as accurately and completely as possible. Eyewit- nesses may err by describing false details (i.e., errors of commission) or by omitting true details. Cognitive and social psychological underpinnings Memory can be described as having four stages – perception, encoding, storage and retrieval.

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  Psychology and Law

  Truthfulness, Accuracy and Credibility

  • Amina A Memon, Aldert Vrij, Ray Bull, Ray H. Bull(Authors)
  • 2003(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  Apparently, many experts felt confident enough to present these findings in court and apply them to real-world cases. However, some experts have suggested a THE ROLE OF EXPERT WITNESSES 173 Table 9.1. What expert witnesses say in court: statements that expert psychologists reported were reliable enough for them to present in courtroom testimony Rank Factor Statement 1 (98%) Wording of questions An eyewitness’s testimony about an event can be affected by how the questions put to that witness are worded 2 (98%) Line-up instructions Police instructions can affect an eyewitness’s willingness to make an identification 3 (98%) Mugshot-induced bias Exposure to mugshots of a suspect increases the likelihood that the witness will later choose the suspect in a line-up 4 (94%) Post-event information Eyewitness Testimony about an event often reflects not only what they actually saw but information they obtained later 5 (90%) Alcohol Alcoholic intoxication impairs an eyewitness’s later ability to recall persons and events 6 (90%) Cross-race bias Eyewitnesses are more accurate when identifying members of their own race than members of other races 7 (87%) Confidence malleability An eyewitness’s confidence can be influenced by factors that are unrelated to identification accuracy 8 (87%) Weapon The presence of a weapon impairs an eye- witness’s ability to accurately identify the perpetrator’s face 9 (87%) Accuracy- confidence An eyewitness’s confidence is not a good predictor of his or her identification accuracy 10 (70%) Child suggestibility Young children are more vulnerable than adults to interviewer suggestion, peer pressures, and other social influences Source: adapted from Kassin et al., 2001. more cautious approach (see Egeth, 1993; Kassin, Ellsworth and Smith, 1994; and Wells, 1993, for a discussion about this issue).

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  Child Forensic Psychology

  Victim and Eyewitness Memory

  • Robyn E. Holliday, Tammy Marche(Authors)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Red Globe Press

    (Publisher)

  A growing body of scholarship, focused largely on child abuse cases, has effectively permeated our legal institutions and resulted in tangible changes to the way that chil-dren participate in legal matters (Ceci, Toglia, & Ross, 1987; Toglia, Read, Ross, & Lindsay, 2007). Juvenile Courts and diversion programs based on contemporary understandings of child development and psychology are now widespread and accepted as an effective mechanism for dealing with a whole host of issues ranging from family law to criminal charges (Gilstrap, Fritz, Torres, & Melinder, 2005). To the extent that our legal institutions have not yet embraced scientific findings or incorporated specific mechanisms con-sistent with those findings, it is clear that the legal community is attuned to the growing body of research in psychology regarding Eyewitness Testimony, Children as Eyewitnesses 101 and particularly to the role of children as witnesses (Marsil, Montoya, Ross, & Graham, 2002). Influential studies on suggestibility and false memory, for instance, have gained a great deal of traction in legal circles and enabled poli-cymakers and practitioners to implement important changes to eyewitness interviewing techniques while simultaneously dispelling more antiquated notions of child competence (e.g. Toglia et al., 2007). This traction can also be seen outside of North America in many jurisdictions throughout Europe. As an example, Austria has moved to put in place legal reforms addressing the reduction of the frequency of interviews/interrogations of child witnesses (Sporer, 2008). We now move from our historical sketch research on child witnesses and their changing role in the criminal justice system to an examination of factors that impact children who are eyewitnesses. As noted above, we categorize these into intrinsic and extrinsic factors that influence the accuracy of a child witness.

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  Psychology and Law

  International Perspectives

  • Friedrich Lösel, Doris Bender, Thomas Bliesener, Friedrich Lösel, Doris Bender, Thomas Bliesener(Authors)
  • 2011(Publication Date)
  • De Gruyter

    (Publisher)

  Influencing Public Policy on Eyewitnessing: Problems and Possibilities Graham Davies Nowhere are the problems of the generalisability and reliability of research findings more acute than in the study of eyewitnessing. In the United Kingdom, changes in the rules governing the admissibility of children's evidence were prefaced by an official review of the existing psychological research on children as witnesses (Hedderman, 1987) and the specialist training given to police officers who produce composite pictures of suspects was developed by witness psychologists (Davies, Shepherd, Shepherd, Flin, & Ellis, 1986). In the United States, such researchers have played a controversial role as experts, normally appearing for the defense, in cases where Eyewitness Testimony plays a central role (Loftus, 1986). Not surprisingly, the methodology and status of eyewitness research has been the subject of debate and controversy. Yuille (1986) has argued that much of the orthodox laboratory research on eyewitness issues is of little or no relevance to the real world and that only the study of real crimes is likely to yield generalisable findings. Conversely, Benaji and Crowder (1989) have argued that such retrospective studies are meaningless without any control over the conditions of observation. They call for a return to well-designed and tightly controlled laboratory research as the only basis for a sound understanding of memory in general and eyewitnessing in particular. Finally, McClosky and Egeth (1983) in their critique of the role of the psychologists as expert witnesses espoused both views: Laboratory bench studies were inconsistent and irrelevant and nothing of significance could be deduced from existing studies of real events. This paper examines each of the four major methodologies which have emerged for the systematic study of eyewitness identification illustrating them, where necessary, with examples of recent research by the author and others.

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  Children's Eyewitness Testimony and Event Memory

  • Martha E. Arterberry(Author)
  • 2022(Publication Date)
  • Cambridge University Press

    (Publisher)

  Children’ s Eyewitness Testimony and Event Memory Elements in Child Development DOI: 10.1017/9781009128216 First published online: June 2022 Martha E. Arterberry Colby College Author for correspondence: Martha E. Arterberry, Martha.Arterberry@colby .edu Abstract: This Element addresses the factors that influence children’ s accuracy in reporting on events and draws implications for children’ s ability to serve as reliable eyewitnesses. The following topics are covered: short- and long-term memory for event details; memory for stressful events; memory for the temporal order of events; memory for the spatial location of events; the ways poorly worded questions or intervening events interfere with memory; and individual differences in language development, understanding right from wrong and emotions, and cognitive processes. In addition, this Element considers how potential jurors perceive children as eyewitnesses and how the findings of the research on children’ s event memory inform best practices for interviewing children. This Element also has a video abstract: www.cambridge.org/ ChildDevelopment_Arterberry_abstract Keywords: children’ s Eyewitness Testimony, event memory, suggestibility, cognitive development, jurors’ perceptions © Martha E. Arterberry 2022 ISBNs: 9781009124379 (PB), 9781009128216 (OC) ISSNs: 2632-9948 (online), 2632-993X (print) Contents Preface 1 1 Introduction 1 2 Many Factors and One Comprehensive Study 6 3 Stressful Events 13 4 Memory for When and Where 16 5 Reporting on Events Under Nonideal Conditions 23 6 Individual Differences 31 7 Adults’ Perceptions of Child Eyewitnesses 40 8 Applications 47 9 Conclusion 50 References 54 Preface My interest in Eyewitness Testimony began when I read Elizabeth Loftus’ (1979) book titled Eyewitness Testimony . This reading was the culminating assignment for a course I took on learning and memory in fall 1981, taught by Professor Deborah Burke at Pomona College.

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  Psychology and Law

  A Critical Introduction

  • Andreas Kapardis(Author)
  • 2014(Publication Date)
  • Cambridge University Press

    (Publisher)

  For example, the time when a witness is to be interviewed by particular police personnel is often the result of a little negotiation between the witness and police over the telephone. Similarly, regarding ‘refreshing a witness’s memory’: in England and Wales witnesses for the prosecution in criminal cases are entitled to copies of any statements they made to police (if they request them), and defence witnesses are also entitled to copies of their statements to police and can refresh their memories from them right up to the moment they go into the witness box. 32 There have been a number of attempts to classify Eyewitness Testimony variables. 33 Improving on the earlier taxonomies, Table 2.1 shows the variables considered in this and the next chapter. Table 2.1 Variables in the study of Eyewitness Testimony by category Event Distance, frequency, time, duration, illumination, type of event, weapon Witness Fatigue, physiological arousal, chronic anxiety, neuroticism, extroversion, reflection-impulsivity, need for approval/affiliation, morning–evening type, self-monitoring, field-dependence, breadth of categorising, levelling-sharpening, mood, alcohol, age, race, gender, schemas/stereotypes, physical attractiveness, whether also victim of the crime, confidence, whether witness is a police officer, collaborative testimony Perpetrator Gender, body size, height, ethnicity, gait Interrogational Retention interval, type of recall, efforts made to recall, leading questions, memory retrieval therapy In considering studies of Eyewitness Testimony, it should also be remembered that memory errors are of two types: errors of omission and errors of commission. Errors of omission stem from inherent limitations of the way the human memory is structured and processes information.

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  The Verdict of the Court

  Passing Judgment in Law and Psychology

  • Jenny McEwan(Author)
  • 2003(Publication Date)
  • Hart Publishing

    (Publisher)

  8 The Impact of Psychology on Law T HIS CHAPTER EXAMINES some areas of law where the work of psychologists has had significant impact. To lawyers the reforms may seem radical. To many psychologists, the changes made do not go nearly far enough. THE EVIDENCE OF THE EYEWITNESS The status of the eyewitness as the best and most reliable source of evidence has been severely undermined. In the United States, a study of post-1900 wrongful convictions indicated that misidentification was a significant factor in fifty-two per cent of the cases. 1 In England and Wales, the Devlin Report 2 made the legal profession suddenly aware of the voluminous psychological literature on eyewit-ness recall and identification evidence. The implications were serious. The error rate recorded in psychological experiments on description accuracy varied between sixty-five and seventy-five per cent, and was increased by lapse of time. 3 Although recognising someone is easier than describing them, accuracy remains alarmingly low, averaging, across the multiplicity of studies, between thirty-five and sixty per cent. 4 Good observation conditions and prolonged observation periods make little difference. 5 The memory of eyewitnesses appears to be easily compromised by stereotypes which can become absorbed into the memory, 6 and by suggestion. 7 At the same time, it is difficult to obtain spontaneous descriptions 1 A Rattman, ‘Convicted but Innocent’ (1988) 12 Law and Human Behavior 283. 2 Report of the Departmental Committee on Evidence of Identification Cmnd 338 (London, HMSO, 1976).

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  Forensic Psychology

  • Matthew T. Huss(Author)
  • 2013(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  In addi- tion, many of the issues I will discuss in relation to expert testimony such as ethical concerns and biases are true for any forensic work in which the forensic psychologist is serving as an objective expert, whether it results in courtroom testimony or not. Finally, because of the scrutiny involved in testifying as an expert, forensic psychology likely has improved its clinical and research methodology in order to defend conclusions in court based on the available literature. History of the Expert Witness Psychologists have not always widely testified as experts. Opinions vary, but Gravitz (1995) suggests that one of the first instances of expert testimony in the United States Chapter 3 Expert Testimony and the Role of an Expert 49 that could be regarded as falling under the general umbrella of forensic psychology or psychiatry occurred in a murder trial in 1846. John Johnson was tried for the murder of Betsey Bolt as part of a plan to cover up a previous sexual assault of Mrs. Bolt by Johnson. An expert, Amariah Brigman, testified extensively on the mental health status of one of the witnesses, who had been a patient in a psychiatric hospital. However, most of the early attempts at encouraging the use of psychological principles in the legal system occurred before the field of clinical psychology was formally established and therefore concerned areas such as perception and cognition (e.g., eyewitness iden- tification). These early attempts were aided by significant figures such as Hugo Mun- sterberg (Chapter 1) and his book On the Witness Stand (1908), in which he encouraged the use of a variety of psychological findings and methods to aid the court, including some clinically related areas such as criminal behavior.

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  Wrightsman's Psychology and the Legal System

  • Edith Greene, Kirk Heilbrun(Authors)
  • 2018(Publication Date)
  • Cengage Learning EMEA

    (Publisher)

  A report of one actual crime lends anecdotal support to the conclusion that the testimony of an expert wit-ness has some impact. Loftus (1984) described the trial of two Arizona brothers charged with the torture of three Mexicans. Two juries were in the courtroom at the same time, one deciding the verdict for Patrick Hani-gan, the other deciding the fate of his brother, Thomas. Most of the evidence was from eyewitnesses, and was virtually identical for the two defendants. However, expert testimony about the inaccuracy of eyewitnesses was introduced only in Thomas’s trial. (The jury hear-ing Patrick’s case waited in the jury room while this evi-dence was presented.) Patrick Hanigan was convicted by one jury; his brother was acquitted by the other. This is as close to a “natural experiment” as the legal system has offered for assessing the influence of a psychologist in the courtroom. Unfortunately, even when allowed, expert testimony is an expensive safeguard that is avail-able in only a small fraction of the cases that come to trial each year (Wells et al., 1998). Are there other more affordable and readily available remedies? Jury Instructions Another option for alerting jurors to the limitations of eyewitnesses is a jury instruction delivered by the judge at the end of a trial. The defense typically requests that such an instruction be given, and the judge decides whether to grant the request. What effects do cautionary instructions have on jurors’ beliefs about eyewitness accuracy? Research testing the impact of a frequently used instruction on eyewitness reliability, the so-called Telfaire instruction ( United States v. Telfaire , 1972), found that it reduced mock jurors’ sensitivity to eyewitness evidence, proba-bly because it gives little indication how jurors should evaluate the evidence (Greene, 1988).

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