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The effect of a weapon on children's and adult's eyewitness memory

The effect of a weapon on memory accuracy for children and adults was examined. One-hundred eighty-six participants (87 7- and 8-year-old children and 99 college undergraduates) viewed one of four videotaped scenes in which a target individual committed a crime while carrying either a weapon that was consistent or inconsistent with his schema role or a neutral non-weapon that was consistent with his role. Participants were individually interviewed about the target's physical appearance. The results indicated that participants of both age groups were less accurate when the target individual carried a weapon that was inconsistent rather than consistent with his schema role. The results also indicated that adults were more accurate overall than children. These findings are consistent with previous findings on weapon focus effect and add to our knowledge of the development of memory. / Department of Psychological Science

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/188041
Date January 2005
CreatorsJameson, Molly M.
ContributorsPickel, Kerri L.
Source SetsBall State University
Detected LanguageEnglish
Formatv, 34 leaves : ill. ; 28 cm.
SourceVirtual Press

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