Eyewitness testimony and memory
Many people believe that certain events are permanently burned into their memory, and in their minds they can recall what “exactly” happened. However, many psychologists have found out that memory doesn’t work the way people think it does. They have discovered that memories are reconstructed each time instead of played back exactly the way we think they occurred. According to Elizabeth F. Loftus, psychologist and memory researcher At University of California Irvine, “memory more closely resembles a synthesis of experiences than a replay of videotape. ”Loftus also points out that “memories can not only be lost, but they can be also drastically changed or even created.” Even though scientists have not developed a reliable way to classify memories as false or true, studies expressed that many false memories have been expressed with confidence, Loftus continues. Loftus concludes that our memory is prone to error and can be infused with illusory memories. Moreover, these memory errors have contributed to injustices that could have been avoided or minimized.
The American judicial system is founded on the reliability of eyewitnesses, especially when it is in trial setting. The system assumes that the eyewitness testimony is reliable unless it …show more content…
In police lineups, the police have a hypothesis, collect responses and interpret the results. The same factors that can bias the results of scientific experiment can bias eyewitness testimony in picking up suspects out of the lineup. Wells showed that there are a number of ways police can avoid biasing the eyewitness testimony. For instance, a lineup should be double blind. This means that the police officers in charge do not know who the possible suspect might be. Furthermore, the police officers should warn the witnesses that they should not be obligated or pressured to pick to pick
Many people believe that certain events are permanently burned into their memory, and in their minds they can recall what “exactly” happened. However, many psychologists have found out that memory doesn’t work the way people think it does. They have discovered that memories are reconstructed each time instead of played back exactly the way we think they occurred. According to Elizabeth F. Loftus, psychologist and memory researcher At University of California Irvine, “memory more closely resembles a synthesis of experiences than a replay of videotape. ”Loftus also points out that “memories can not only be lost, but they can be also drastically changed or even created.” Even though scientists have not developed a reliable way to classify memories as false or true, studies expressed that many false memories have been expressed with confidence, Loftus continues. Loftus concludes that our memory is prone to error and can be infused with illusory memories. Moreover, these memory errors have contributed to injustices that could have been avoided or minimized.
The American judicial system is founded on the reliability of eyewitnesses, especially when it is in trial setting. The system assumes that the eyewitness testimony is reliable unless it …show more content…
In police lineups, the police have a hypothesis, collect responses and interpret the results. The same factors that can bias the results of scientific experiment can bias eyewitness testimony in picking up suspects out of the lineup. Wells showed that there are a number of ways police can avoid biasing the eyewitness testimony. For instance, a lineup should be double blind. This means that the police officers in charge do not know who the possible suspect might be. Furthermore, the police officers should warn the witnesses that they should not be obligated or pressured to pick to pick