Based off of conducted research, eyewitness memory used in testimonies is one of the most persuasive forms of evidence that is presented in court, but the facts are rather doubtful. Mistaken eyewitness evidence can lead to illegal conviction, imprisoning people for a period of time even to death penalty, for crimes they did not commit. According to the article, Eyewitness Testimony and Memory Biases, “faulty eyewitness testimony has been implicated in at least 75% of DNA exoneration cases-more than any other cause” (Garrett, 2011). An eyewitness memory refers to a person’s episodic memory for a crime or other intense event that he or she has witnessed. In addition, it can refer to an individual’s memory for a face. Although, the exactness of
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Numerous people tend to think that stress sharpens the senses; however, research shows that people who observe an event when under stress are more likely to misidentify the culprit. Stress or trauma can influence the encoding of memory in the presence of an event, and traumatic events could cause memory to be inhibited out of the conscious awareness. According to the article, “Emotional Stress and Eyewitness Memory: A Critical Review,” emotional stress leads to an impairment in memory, which causes the specifics of spiteful emotional events to be recalled less accurately than specifics of everyday events. As stated in the article, “a common assumption behind this view is that a decrease in available processing capacity occurs at states of high emotional arousal, which, therefore, leads to less efficient memory processing” (Christianson, 1992). One way encoding a memory can be affected is when one experiences dissociation. Dissociation means when he or she mentally removes himself or herself from the situation, which acts like a coping method. Trauma may also stimulate a flashbulb effect. This is when the witness thinks he or she remembers everything detail vividly, while correctness has to be determined for the memories. High levels of stress can inhibit memory
Numerous people tend to think that stress sharpens the senses; however, research shows that people who observe an event when under stress are more likely to misidentify the culprit. Stress or trauma can influence the encoding of memory in the presence of an event, and traumatic events could cause memory to be inhibited out of the conscious awareness. According to the article, “Emotional Stress and Eyewitness Memory: A Critical Review,” emotional stress leads to an impairment in memory, which causes the specifics of spiteful emotional events to be recalled less accurately than specifics of everyday events. As stated in the article, “a common assumption behind this view is that a decrease in available processing capacity occurs at states of high emotional arousal, which, therefore, leads to less efficient memory processing” (Christianson, 1992). One way encoding a memory can be affected is when one experiences dissociation. Dissociation means when he or she mentally removes himself or herself from the situation, which acts like a coping method. Trauma may also stimulate a flashbulb effect. This is when the witness thinks he or she remembers everything detail vividly, while correctness has to be determined for the memories. High levels of stress can inhibit memory