Eyewitness memory is still not common sense: comparing jurors,judges and law enforcement to eyewitness experts

Knowledge of factors affecting eyewitness accuracy was examined in a sample of jurors, judges and law enforcement professionals. Participants completed a survey in which they were asked to agree or disagree with 30 statements about eyewitness issues, and their responses were compared to a sample of eyewitness experts who completed the same survey. Participant responses differed significantly from responses of eyewitness experts. Jurors disagreed with the experts on 87% of the issues, while judges and law enforcement disagreed with the experts on 60% of the issues. The findings show a large deficiency in knowledge of eyewitness memory amongst jurors, judges and law enforcement personnel, indicating that the legal system may benefit from expert assistance in the evaluation of eyewitness evidence. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

What US judges know and believe about eyewitness testimony

In a survey, 160 US judges indicated their knowledge and beliefs about eyewitness testimony. Although correct on some issues, judges were often wrong on important issues such as whether at trial eyewitness confidence is a good indicator of eyewitness accuracy, and if jurors can distinguish accurate from inaccurate witnesses. Increased knowledge was associated with: a willingness to permit legal safeguards, including expert testimony at trial; a belief that jurors have limited knowledge of eyewitness factors; a reluctance to convict defendants solely from eyewitness testimony; a more accurate estimate of the extent to which wrongful convictions result from eyewitness error; and a belief that judges need more eyewitness training. Additional training about factors and procedures that affect eyewitness accuracy may help judges reduce the number of wrongful convictions. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Eyewitness testimony: tracing the beliefs of Swedish legal professionals

This paper examines beliefs held by Swedish legal professionals about eyewitness testimony. In a survey including questions about 13 key issues of eyewitness testimony, three groups were investigated: police officers (n = 104), prosecutors (n = 158), and judges (n = 251). The response rate was 74%. Examples of findings are that the beliefs were in line with scientific findings concerning the weapon focus effect, but were not in line for simultaneous vs. sequential lineups. Between-group differences were found for seven items. Judges were much more sceptical than police officers about the reliability and completeness of children's testimonies. The groups seldom agreed about one answer alternative, and they reported not being up to date about scientific research on eyewitness testimony. The results suggest that some important research findings have reached those working on the field. However, they hold many wrongful beliefs about eyewitness testimony, beliefs that might compromise the accuracy of legal decisions.     

Instructor and student knowledge of study strategies

Students' self-reported study skills and beliefs are often inconsistent with empirically supported (ES) study strategies. However, little is known regarding instructors' beliefs about study skills and if such beliefs differ from those of students. In the current study, we surveyed college students' and instructors' knowledge of study strategies and had both groups evaluate the efficacy of learning strategies described in six learning scenarios. Results from the survey indicated that students frequently reported engaging in methods of studying that were not optimal for learning. Instructors' responses to the survey indicated that they endorsed a number of effective study skills but also held several beliefs inconsistent with research in learning and memory (e.g., learning styles). Further, results from the learning scenarios measure indicated that instructors were moderately more likely than students to endorse ES learning strategies. Collectively, these data suggest that instructors exhibited better knowledge of effective study skills than students, although the difference was small. We discuss several notable findings and argue for the improvement of both students' and instructors' study skill knowledge.     

What Psychologists Know and Believe about Memory: A Survey of Practitioners

We surveyed 858 licensed psychologists, members of the Norwegian Psychological Association, about their knowledge and beliefs about human memory. The results were compared to the results of parallel surveys of legal professionals and lay persons, and evaluated in the light of the results of current memory science. The results indicate that psychologists are not memory experts qua psychologists; as a group, psychologists do not score above the level of knowledge of lay persons or trial judges on issues of eyewitness memory, and a substantial minority of the sample of respondents harbours scientifically unproven ideas of memory. The implications of these findings for psychological practice, with special reference to the court room, are briefly discussed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Lay knowledge of eyewitness behaviour: A British survey

One of the recent concerns in the study of eyewitness memory is how well lay knowledge, i.e. ‘common sense’, matches the findings of empirical research. A number of American and Canadian studies, some using questionnaire methodology, have found limitations in lay knowledge of eyewitness behaviour. Further studies have extended this general finding beyond the lay public–who are prospective jurors–to legal professionals such as lawyers and policemen. The present study utilized the Knowledge of Eyewitness Behaviour Questionnaire (KEBQ), an inventory used in previous studies, to replicate the North American studies with a British sample of students, including law students, and the general public. The results showed a great similarity between the North American and British samples' knowledge of eyewitness behaviour. A significant number of correct responses were made to eight of the 14 KEBQ items, with a significant number of incorrect responses to the remainder. It was also found that law students were no more knowledgeable than other subjects; that knowledge did not vary with age; and that previous experience as an eyewitness was not related to knowledge of eyewitness behaviour. In responding to some of the criticisms of questionnaire studies it is argued that the evidence is mounting in favour of the need for a recognized system to make jurors aware of the factors known to influence eyewitness testimony.     

Knowledge of Memory Aging Across the Lifespan

ABSTRACT. The authors examined knowledge of normal and pathological memory aging in a lifespan sample of 198 individuals who ranged in age from 13 to 88 years. Participants completed the Knowledge of Memory Aging Questionnaire (Cherry, Brigman, Hawley, & Reese, 2003). The authors hypothesized that high school students would be less knowledgeable about memory aging issues than college students, middle-aged, and community-dwelling older adults. Consistent with this hypothesis, response accuracy was lower for high school students compared to their older counterparts. Follow-up analyses revealed that high school students’ responses to a subset of questions that tap ageist views of adult cognition were less accurate than the other age groups, implying a response bias toward stereotypical images of memory aging. Implications for research and the design of instructional materials to increase people's knowledge about normative changes in adult cognition are discussed.     

Judges' views of child sexual abuse: Evaluating beliefs against research findings in a Finnish sample

Beliefs impact our decision‐making and different professionals have been shown to have beliefs about child sexual abuse (CSA) that do not coincide with scientific findings. In the present study, judges' beliefs regarding CSA were explored. Finnish judges (N = 104) answered a questionnaire about CSA related issues as well as questions regarding their professional experience of CSA cases. The judges held both correct and incorrect beliefs; while their CSA prevalence estimates were rather well in line with research findings, half of the participants estimated that no professionals use suggestive methods when interviewing children and more than 40% thought suggestive methods can be useful when trying to get a child to tell about real events. Judges correctly assumed symptoms cannot be used to assess a CSA case, however, the majority thought play observations were appropriate means for evaluating such suspicions. Experience seemed to lead to more confidence in their own expertise but not in an actual increase in knowledge, namely, judges thought themselves more expert when more experienced although their expertise as measured by the questionnaire did not improve. Overall, the judges had both correct and erroneous beliefs but while experience did not improve the situation, gaining information about CSA did. More research about the beliefs of judges and how such beliefs impact legal decision‐making is needed.     

Swedish Legal Professionals' Opinions on Child and Adult Witness Memory‐reporting Capabilities: Using the Method of Indirect Comparisons

Legal professionals' opinions about the memory abilities of child and adult witnesses are important in the legal process. We surveyed 266 legal professionals (Swedish police, prosecutors, and attorneys) and 33 lay judges about their beliefs about child and adult eyewitnesses' recall and metacognitive abilities. Prior research has usually asked for direct comparisons of children and adults but this may be rare in forensic practice. The respondents completed a story questionnaire (about a 9‐ or 45‐year‐old person witnessing an event), allowing indirect, or researcher‐made, comparisons. In contrast to previous research (direct comparisons), our participants mostly rated children and adults to be on an equal level, but within‐group consensus was low. Also, fairly few differences emerged between the groups' beliefs. Finally, the participants' opinions in our study were less in line with results from eyewitness research, compared with previous research using direct comparisons. Implications for legal and research practice are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Comparison of What U.S. Judges and Students Know and Believe About Eyewitness Testimony

We compared what 160 U.S. judges, 57 law students, and 121 undergraduates know and believe about factors affecting the accuracy of eyewitness testimony. Judges were no more knowledgeable than were undergraduates, and both groups were less knowledgeable than were law students. For all 3 groups, increased knowledge of eyewitness factors was associated with beliefs that might reduce wrongful convictions. Participants in all 3 groups underestimated what potential jurors know about eyewitness testimony. The results suggest that increasing judges' knowledge of eyewitness testimony might help them to reduce wrongful convictions and to more accurately assess when eyewitness experts are needed. The results also suggest that law schools need to do a better job of educating law students about eyewitness testimony.     

Postidentification feedback affects real eyewitnesses

Many studies of simulated eyewitness situations have shown that under certain laboratory conditions, people's confidence about their identifications predicts their accuracy, but that their reported confidence can be affected by telling them that they chose the suspect. In this study, eyewitnesses (n= 134) to real crimes took part in lineups at an identification suite in the United Kingdom and were asked questions about their memory both before and after they were told whether they had identified the suspect or a filler. Before the eyewitnesses were told whether they had identified the suspect or a filler, their responses to several questions reliably differentiated between those who identified the suspect and those who identified a filler. In addition, responses to the memory questions were affected by telling the eyewitnesses whether or not they had identified the suspect. These results show that postidentification feedback affects real eyewitnesses and highlight the importance of recording meta-memory variables before an eyewitness discovers whether he or she has identified the suspect.     

Beliefs about factors affecting the Reliability of eyewitness testimony: A Comparison of judges,jurors and the general public

We surveyed 164 members of the juror pool of the Court of Appeal and a representative sample of 1000 adult Norwegians without juror experience, about their knowledge and beliefs about eyewitness testimony, and compared their answers to a prior survey of Norwegian judges. Although the judges were somewhat more knowledgeable than jurors and the general public, all groups had limited knowledge of eyewitness testimony. Juror experience, in terms of number of times serving as juror, did not correlate with eyewitness knowledge. Consistent with this finding, the knowledge scores of the jurors were similar to the scores of the general public, tested with an abridged seven‐item version of the questionnaire. Comparisons with the results of surveys conducted in the US, indicate similar levels of knowledge among law professionals and jurors in the two countries. Increasing the knowledge of eyewitness testimony among the principal participants in the judiciary system may be an important component of the solution to eyewitness error. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Memory narrowing in children and adults

The memory narrowing effect posits that stress enhances memory for central information at the expense of memory for peripheral details. This effect is well established in adults, but not in children, although studies have not directly compared children's and adults' memory for central versus peripheral details of an identical distressing experience. In the present study, 9–12 year‐old and adult participants completed a laboratory stressor during which measures of self‐reported stress was collected. Two weeks later, participants returned for a surprise memory test regarding central and peripheral details of the laboratory stressor. Greater stress predicted memory narrowing in both children and adults, as indexed via decreased correct responses and increased don't know responses to questions about peripheral relative to central details. Findings have implications for theories concerning stress and memory, particularly in children, and for evaluating eyewitness memory in legal contexts. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mental reinstatement of context: A technique for interviewing child witnesses

The effectiveness of mental reinstatement of context as a technique for interviewing child witnesses was examined. Adult, 6-year-olds and 11 -year-olds viewed a film and were interviewed in one of three conditions; (1) free recall, (2) mental reinstatement of the context in which the film was viewed or (3) a series of specific questions about the film. In terms of correct information recalled, mental reinstatement of context and specific questions produced more correct responses than did free recall. In terms of errors of commission, specific questions produced more responses than either free recall or mental reinstatement of context. Age-related increases in both correct and incorrect responses were found supporting some previous findings. The implications of these results in terms of children's eyewitness memory were discussed, and future research directions were indicated.     

The Association of Gender,Ethnicity, and Length of Residence in the Bay Area to Adolescents' Knowledge and Attitudes about Acquired immune Deficiency Syndrome1

A large-scale survey was conducted in San Francisco to assess adolescents' knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about AIDS. Data obtained from 1,326 adolescents demonstrate marked variability in knowledge across informational items, particularly about the precautionary measures to be taken during sexual intercourse which may reduce the risk of infection. The findings identified ethnic differences in knowledge about AIDS, with Asians having a lower overall knowledge score than Hispanics, Blacks, and Caucasians. Adolescents who score below the median for total number of correct responses were more than twice as likely to perceive themselves as very susceptible to AIDS. A comparison of surveys from other parts of the country suggests that proximity to an AIDS epicenter has great saliency for adolescents with respect to their knowledge and attitudes about AIDS. The proportion of adolescents reporting correct responses, for questions in common, between the surveys indicates that students in San Francisco score appreciably higher. A framework is also described for providing school-based risk-reduction health education for adolescents.     

The role of self‐rated ability in the accuracy of confidence judgements in eyewitness memory and general knowledge

It is argued that confidence stems in part from self‐rated ability in a domain of knowledge and that in eyewitness memory such perceptions are erroneous. Two experiments tested these hypotheses. In both experiments participants rated their relative ability in the domains of eyewitness memory and general knowledge and subsequently took tests of each, giving confidence ratings for each item attempted. In both studies, self‐rated ability predicted performance for general knowledge, but not eyewitness memory. Across participants confidence ratings were significant predictors of accuracy for general knowledge, but not for eyewitness memory. In Experiment 1 self‐rated ability was predictive of confidence ratings for both domains, although this effect was weaker in Experiment 2. The argument that the accuracy of confidence judgements in eyewitness memory is undermined by a lack of insight into relative expertise is therefore supported. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Can Questioning Induce Forgetting? Retrieval‐Induced Forgetting of Eyewitness Information

In eyewitness situations, questioning can be seen as a form of retrieval practice that may have detrimental effects on eyewitness memory. Memory research has demonstrated that retrieval practice may not only enhance memory for practiced information but also induce forgetting of related information. The present study examined the effect of retrieval practice on forgetting in eyewitness memory. First, we investigated whether asking questions about particular offender characteristics can induce forgetting of other offender characteristics. Second, we examined whether this forgetting effect is limited to information from the practiced offender or may also influence memory for characteristics of others present in the crime scene. Third, we studied whether forgetting of eyewitness information occurs in the absence of output interference effects. We found that questioning induced forgetting of offender characteristics. Moreover, the forgetting effect was not limited to information about the practiced offender. Finally, forgetting was found even when output order was experimentally controlled. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.