Suggestibility occurs when inaccurate information is incorporated into currently existing memories. The present study examined the effect of forewarning on suggestibility, including the influence of working memory capacity (WMC). The main hypotheses are that forewarnings will reduce suggestibility compared to the control group and that high-WMC will yield lower suggestibility compared to medium- and low-WMC. The final hypothesis is that WMC and forewarning will interact such that low-WMC individuals will benefit more than high-WMC individuals from the forewarning. A sample of 123 college students was recruited. Participants watched a clip of the TV-show 24. WMC was then assessed followed by the presentation of a misleading narrative. Prior to listening to the narrative, they read a set of instructions that sometimes contained the forewarning. After listening to the misleading narrative, participants took a test over their memories of the film. A 2 X 3 ANOVA was conducted and found a main effect for forewarning. No other effect was significant. The current results only support the first main hypothesis that forewarning reduces suggestibility. These results could be used to help prepare eyewitnesses to resist misinformation in the period between witnessing an event and reporting the event during a later trial.

The chief aim of this dissertation was to establish the respective contributions of automatic and intentional memory processes to misinformation effects in 5-, 8-, and 9-year-old children. In the first two experiments children were presented with a picture story followed by misleading post-event details that were either read to participants, or were self-generated in response to semantic and perceptual hints. Children were then presented with original and suggested items and given a yes / no recognition test under inclusion or exclusion instructions. The application of Jacoby’s (1991) process dissociation procedure to children’s recognition performance revealed that the contribution of intentional processing to misinformation acceptance increased following the self-generation of suggestions. Automatic processing made a strong contribution to misinformation effects regardless of the way that misinformation was encoded. Experiment 3 extended this general pattern of results to a forced choice recognition paradigm. Experiment 4 examined the role of social demand factors in children’s suggestibility using Belli’s (1989) yes / no retrieval paradigm. Little evidence of an influence of social demand on children’s suggestible responses was found with automatic processes again the predominant factor determining suggestibility. In the final experiment, the temporal order of the original and post-event phases was reversed such that 5-year-olds were initially presented with a post-event summary containing misinformation, followed by a witnessed event. The results of this study confirmed that children’s suggestions were unlikely to be the result of trace alteration or social demand. The implications of the findings for theoretical accounts of the misinformation effect in children’s recognition and for children’s eyewitness testimony are discussed. / PhD Doctorate

How can empirical science, and psychology in particular, be harnessed to avoid or eliminate unwanted biases? The body of work herein explores this question across twelve experiments. The first approach we consider is placing the onus on the individual to root out any already existing bias within him or herself. Chapter 3, for example, presents experiments that assess whether people (viz., jurors during voir dire) can accurately "self-diagnose" when they are irreparably biased by negative pretrial publicity. (The answer is a resounding no). A second approach is to try and avoid letting bias enter the courtroom in the first place. Chapter 4, for example, provides an experimental test of an institutional solution known as blind expertise, wherein certain biases of an expert witness are avoided by having an intermediary pick the expert, and then having the expert render an opinion before knowing which litigant made the request. In Chapter 7, we consider a third approach to handling bias, one that concedes it will exist in the courtroom. Namely, instruct jurors on the existence of bias, so that they can try to weigh it properly. To this end we test a recently enacted New Jersey instruction on eyewitness testimony. We find that jurors do not become more sensitive to low versus high evidence quality, but instead they discount the eyewitness testimony across the board. Across this inquiry, we deploy several novel tactics; in Chapter 5, for instance, we explore how continuous response measurement (CRM) can provide unique insights into the study of reasoning, and in particular how jurors parse trial evidence. We end in chapter 8 with a more general discussion of how behavioral science can be applied across law and policy.

The presented diploma thesis presents the method of cognitive interview and describes the possibilities of its use in the preparatory proceedings. The theoretical part defines the interrogation of a witness in the preparatory proceedings and introduces the psychological processes in creating witness statement. In the following chapters, the thesis focuses only on the method of cognitive interview, presents its processs, basic techniqes, but also a comparison with other interrogation methods. The greatest emphasis of the thesis is on the use of cognitive interview with the police and specific groups that participate in the preparatory proceedings. Part of the thesis is also research, which is divided into two parts. Each of them aims to describe the current process of interrogating witnesses and victims in the Czech Republic, to help answer the question of whether it is important to try to implement the method of cognitive interview in the Czech environment. Thanks to the analysis of five interrogation videos and seven interviews with police officers from practice, it was possible to identify some interrogation techniques that are considered effective in the cognitive interview method, but also those that the method recommends not to use. Of the four cognitive interview techniques, which are...

The presented diploma thesis presents the method of cognitive interview and describes the possibilities of its use in the preparatory proceedings. The theoretical part defines the interrogation of a witness in the preparatory proceedings and introduces the psychological processes in creating witness statement. In the following chapters, the thesis focuses only on the method of cognitive interview, presents its processs, basic techniqes, but also a comparison with other interrogation methods. The greatest emphasis of the thesis is on the use of cognitive interview with the police and specific groups that participate in the preparatory proceedings. Part of the thesis is also research, which is divided into two parts. Each of them aims to describe the current process of interrogating witnesses and victims in the Czech Republic, to help answer the question of whether it is important to try to implement the method of cognitive interview in the Czech environment. Thanks to the analysis of five interrogation videos and seven interviews with police officers from practice, it was possible to identify some interrogation techniques that are considered effective in the cognitive interview method, but also those that the method recommends not to use. Of the four cognitive interview techniques, which are...

When conducting initial forensic interviews, facilitating later retrieval in an efficient and timely manner is often important. A tool called The Self-Administered Interview (SAI) has been shown to facilitate later retrieval when completed initially. Even if less time-consuming than other interviewing protocols, it still takes considerable time to complete. This study compared the capability to facilitate later retrieval and temporal aspects of SAI and its separate parts to investigate the relative worth of each part. The two separate parts were a written, free recall and the rest of SAI without the free recall. Forty-five participants completed either of the parts after watching a fictious crime. Six days later a memory test was administered. This study used the same research design as two previous studies which allowed for integrated analysis using data from the three studies. SAI facilitated later retrieval by significantly increasing number of correct answers and decreasing number of incorrect answers. SAI without a free recall significantly decreased number of incorrect answers. SAI took approximately twice as long to complete as a written, free recall. SAI without free recall had comparable results as a free recall but took almost the same time to complete as SAI. An overall pattern for all initial actions was that an increase in complexity and comprehensive design, increased performance but also took longer to complete. If performance is priority and time is not a factor, SAI is recommended. If lowering time of completion is priority a free recall is the quickest action.

Brigham and Bothwell (1983) claimed that jurors have a scientifically incorrect view of eyewitness testimony. The purpose of this study was to examine the most beneficial way to assist the jury in dealing with eyewitness testimony. Duckworth, Kreiner, Stark-Wroblewski, and Marsh (2011) applied interactive participation in an eyewitness activity and expert testimony to a mock-jury dealing with eyewitness testimony and found that those who participated in the activity had significantly fewer convictions. The methodological framework of the Duckworth et al. study was applied to East Tennessee State University criminal justice undergraduates. Although this study did not find any significant effects in hearing expert testimony on empirical findings regarding eyewitness testimony or participating in an individual recall activity, cross tabulation frequencies indicated a directional pattern of relationship when independent variables were compared to the control group.

The purpose of this study was to examine differences of recalled events from a selected university student population. Eyewitness testimony is frequently used to convict defendants each year. Many of these convictions are based solely on eyewitness accounts. While much has been written on the reliability of eyewitness testimony, little is known about demographic characteristic differences that may exist. A videotaped event was shown to a sample of college students who were then asked to complete a questionnaire based on what they watched. There were significant differences found in the respondents‟ accuracy in recalling events of the video according to demographic characteristics of the sample.

Eyewitness testimony plays a crucial role in the justice system. Misidentification from eyewitnesses was reported in 70% of 300 DNA exonerations of wrongfully convicted individuals (Wixted et al., 2015). Similarly, many convicts can also be set free because of juror’s faulty eyewitness recall during examination. Previous research indicated that females are more reliable in recall than men. However, these findings were not extensively examined with regards to time delay prior to the trial. Thus, it is important to systematically examine the various factors that influence eyewitness testimony. The present study was designed to empirically examine the effects of gender, interview technique, and time interval on eyewitness recall. It was hypothesized that female participants would outscore male participants in both facial and detail recall. It was also hypothesized that the cognitive interview would yield more accurate details about the crime in comparison to the standard interview. It was hypothesized that recall for participants would decay as the time interval increased. One hundred and four participants were randomly selected from a southeastern university to participate in the study. Ages of the participants ranged from 18-40 and consisted of fifty-two males and fifty-two females. They were required to complete a series of questionnaires consisting of demographics, mood measure, personality test, and standard/cognitive interviews. The results showed a significant effect between gender, interview technique, and time interval on detail recall. In addition, there was a significant main effect for interview type. There was a significant effect of gender and time interval on facial recall. It was found that extraversion significantly predicted detail recall as did agreeableness and neuroticism. The present findings further extend previous research examining the most effective interviewing techniques for eyewitness recall. It also indicated that females can accurately recall faces after a time delay in comparison to men. Furthermore, these results also clearly indicate that gender and time interval play a significant role in facial recall. Finally, the findings have practical implications for the jury selection system. For example, attorneys and judges might be inclined to choose women over men for specific cases where eyewitness details may be crucial for conviction. In addition, they may also use facial shots in order to enhance eyewitness recall. Personality measures can assist detectives to determine if a suspect is suitable for an interview. If at all possible, administering personality test for jurors may help in determining certain personality types are more prone to error.

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