Can You Trust An Eyewitness PDF

Preview

Summary

1.​Eyewitnesses to crimes are not always reliable; they think they remember the facts about an event, yet they make errors. Describe three psychological factors that might account for such errors.

​2.If you were a police officer, lawyer, or prosecutor who had the job of interrogating wi...

Description

Can You Trust An Eyewitness?

1. Eyewitnesses to crimes are not always reliable; they think they remember the facts about an event, yet they make errors. Describe three psychological factors that might account for such errors.   

Anxiety/stress: The witness may feel pressured to say certain things that may not be true. Weapon Focus: When asked about the same object for too long the witness will start second guessing themselves. Leading Questions: These types of questions make it impossible to answer questions as truthfully as possible.

2.If you were a police officer, lawyer, or prosecutor who had the job of interrogating witnesses and you wanted to increase eyewitness accuracy, what are two things you might do? 



It depends on what type of case it is. If it is a criminal case, you would want to check the credibility of the witness. How much have they been involved in this type of incident? Do they have any affiliation with the defendant? Ask various questions about the incident. Ask the same questions repeatedly in different ways to check the response.

3. In general, how would a 10-year-old child be a more reliable eyewitness regarding the facts of an event than a 40-year-old adult, and vice versa? Why? 

A 10-year-old would be a more reliable eyewitness because kids can remember the small details that older people cannot. Such as colors, shape, body size, etc. Older people pay attention to the act that’s happening, and they tend to pay less attention to the assailant.

4. We are all eyewitnesses to our own lives, and we are not completely accurate in what we remember. Which of your autobiographical memories do you think might be distorted or inaccurate? Why? 

I think a lot of my childhood memories may be distorted. For example, me and my sister both remember being in a taxi with our cousin and mom. In the back seat of the taxi, it was a Chucky doll and it started climbing up towards us. But every time I ask my mom about it, she says it was never a Chucky doll....