pysch 313 exam 5

Memory for details of a witnessed event

Often the basis for criminal convictions

What makes eyewitness memory inaccurate DURING the event

• attention limitations

• heightened emotions

• expectations

• trauma

What makes eyewitness memory inaccurate AFTER the event

• misleading information

• brain fog

• thinking about/talking about the event

• lack of interest

Attention is limited

Can’t form a memory without attention

Can impair memory for certain details

Presence of a weapon draws attention and impairs memory for other details

EX. If attention is drawn to the weapon, less likely to encode details of the culprit or scene

more accurate identification of same-race faces than different-race faces

the tendency of eyewitnesses to misidentify a familiar (but innocent) face as belonging to the person responsible for a crime

Psychological defense mechanism that banishes unwanted memories

3 common therapeutic approaches to repressed memory

• guided imagery

• self-help books

• hypnosis

• audio