ASSIGNMENT COVER

Course code: 5005

Course name: Cognitive psychology 2

Assignment title: Eye witness memory

Instructor’s name: Dr Paraskevi Theofilou

Student’s name: Maria Bagourdi

Date: 09/01/2017

Word count 1910

EYE-WITNESS MEMORY

Introduction

Eye witness memory simply refers to the episodic memory of an individual for an
event that he or she has witnessed. With reference to its legal scope, this term could
be used to refer that the account that is given by an individual regarding an event that
they have witnessed. From this basic definition, it can therefore be deduced that eye-
witness memory is a significant area of research as far as cognitive psychology and
human memory are concerned. Eye witness memory is an area of research that is
studied usually under the broader topic of cognitive processes which are essentially
the different ways through which human beings make sense of the world that is
around them. In essence, this is through the application of mental skills such as
perception, memory, thinking, awareness, reasoning and ultimately, judgment. Eye
witness memory is one subject or rather area of study whose application has
dominated the realm of investigation and hence its wide use in the contemporary
society. Important to note is the fact that it occurs in stages. First there is witnessing
of the event or incident, then the period of waiting before giving evidence and finally
giving evidence. The goal of this research is to delve much deeper into the percept of
eye witness memory. With the priority objective of this research being to widen the
understanding of the topic, this study will take stock of the primary issues that are
associated with eye witness memory. All this will be done from the lens of cognitive
psychology. The culmination of the study will be building of the body of knowledge
related to this discussion.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is multifaceted. However, the main purpose of this
particular study is to provide a sobering counterpoint to the nature of eye witness
memory as far as the field of cognitive psychology is concerned. This study therefore
serves to provide a systematic investigation based on established facts, sound
theoretical framework as well as new conclusions in order to shape the perception of
individuals regarding the topic under study. Through the referencing of previous
research findings, the goal of this paper goes over and beyond explaining the role of
eye witness memory to determining the impact of the application of this psychological
concept. This research is therefore bound to uncover some important and inherent
issues that are associated with eye witness memory, most of which have not been
highlighted by previous research. Worth noting is the fact that eye witness memories
are often limited. Thusly, this study will be used as very resourceful tool by providing
greater insight to eye-witness accounts. Generally, the purpose of this research is to
inform action. This, the research aims to achieve through the conceptualization of its
findings with the greater body of knowledge. The study implications of this topic will
also have a significant impact on policy implementation and policy adoption. This
also extends to global heath endeavors as part of the study implications. The
implications of this study will can be summarized to as ‘to inform’. While previous
studies have created a good foundation to this discussion, there still is a great deal of
information assymetry that necessitates the need for research in order to shed more
light on the same. Pursuing this topic as a research project is anticipated to be a
challenging and rewarding experience as well. The significance of this study is
certain.

Review of Literature

The next section of this proposal will depict that the main source of data for this study
will be from secondary sources. This simply means that existing literature will be
thoroughly analyzed and related to the topic. This section of the proposal provides a
brief overview of studies that have already been conducted on the topic. Existing
literature that is based on research conducted on this topic has taken various stands;
some studies find this concept as rather fundamental in terms of its contributions in
investigations while other studies have placed its credibility under criticism. Elizabeth
Loftus, in an article on Eye witness testimony highlights the fact that weapon focus,
stress, leading questions, anxiety and reconstructive memory are all factors that could
affect eye witness memory. Loftus stresses specifically that the existence of a weapon
in a crime scene could make the witness describe the weapon in relation to the person
holding it (Loftus, 1987). In this way, Loftus simply tries to show how the focus on a
weapon could affect eye witness memory (Loftus, Eye Witness Testimony, 2006). A
study in experimental and social psychology by Bartlett on the other hand considers
memory as not simply a factual recording of what occurred. Rather, he points out that
it is psychological for human beings to create effort after meaning (Sir Frederic
Charles Bartlett, 1995). In other words, he establishes that individuals will often have
the tendency to change their memories into what makes sense to them. This is an
inherent concept known as reconstructive memory and is associated with eye witness
memory. This postulation was also supported by Allport and Postman (Gordon
Willard Allport, 1947). The two also established that the process of memory is an
active process that can be changed in order to suit what an individual expected to
happen based on his or her understanding of the society. Existing research has thereby
established that on the basis of cognitive psychology, eye witness could be
characterized by inaccuracy since memory does not involve encoding and decoding
information in the same way that it was recorded (Sir Frederic Charles Bartlett, 1995).
Eye witness has been cited to be prone to error due to a couple of reasons including
use of disguise by the perpetrator, anxiety, presence of weapons, brief viewing and
even the lack of distinctive characteristics by a suspect.

Research Methods

The methods of data collection that will be employed in this project of study will be
defined by the data sources. The main sources of data for this study will be secondary
sources. The sources of literature selected for the purposes of this study will be based
on their scope, their relevance to the research and their contributions to this body of
knowledge. Data will be collected through a review of the selected literature and
recording of the aspects that are deemed vital to the research. Since the data collected
is qualitative in nature, qualitative data analysis methods will be employed in order to
make sense of the data. As a result, the data will be analyzed through focus group
discussions and data coding. Qualitative research methods will be used for this study
based on the assumption that there is assumed and negotiated reality of the subject
matter.

This study will consequently employ the use of a vast array of secondary sources in
order to support the distinct conceptions of eye witness memory. The analysis of the
data that will be collected in the research process, this study will discuss the various
stands that have been taken by different schools of thought with regard to the subject
matter of discussion Where applicable, tables charts and graphs will be used in order t
put the various postulations into perspective. Generally, the main method of data
analysis that will be used for this study will be content analysis with the objective
being to make sense out the data that will have been collected.

Still in relation to the research methodology, this study will adopt the exploratory
design since it seeks to establish and explore the various issues that are related to eye
witness memory from a psychological point of view. This methodology will further
involve, to a relatively great extent, relevant theory, provision of the definition of
terms and an outline of the hypotheses to be tested.

Project Summary

This project will be conducted to extend the current body of knowledge particularly
through filling the existing research gaps. The main gap that this research anticipates
to fill is to provide a linkage between experiments and studies conducted and the
current situation in the contemporary society. In other words, this study serves to
establish the relationship between the two as previous studies have not conceptualized
the relationship.

The study will be based on certain conjectures/ hypotheses. The following are the
postulations or rather hypotheses that will be tested;

(a) Eye witness memory is not 100 % accurate since the human memory is
anything but reliable. Eye witness memory is therefore a series of recollections by
individuals that has been shaped and reconstructed on the basis of beliefs,
expectations and stereotypes.

(b) The process of interpretation of an event occurs at the very formation of a

memory. It therefore follows that distortion of the memory is introduced right from
the beginning.

(c) Eye witness memory is affected by a couple of factors including

reconstruction of memory, weapon focus, stress and anxiety.

This study further aimed at answering certain research questions and the responses to
these prompts collectively guided the study;

(a) To what extent is the memory of a human being accurate based on the
recollection of events? What is the rationale for this accuracy or inaccuracy thereof?
(b) Distortion of memory and the resultant reconstruction of memory have been
associated with eye witness memory. From a psychological perspective, how does this
occur and in what ways does this affect eye witness memory?

(c) In the 1970’s Elizabeth Loftus conducted various experiments that revealed
the role of weapon focus in distorting eye witness memory. Is there evidence of
consistency of Loftus’ findings with contemporary theory?

The research hypotheses and research questions provide a comprehensive summary of

the details of this study. In other words, they form the foundation of the entire
research.

Conclusion

The topic or subject of eye witness memory is one that is of great relevance
particularly in the contemporary society’s judicial system. This is a phenomenon that
can be best understood from the lens of cognitive psychology and this is exactly what
the study aims to do. This study also attaches great importance to the fact that there
are several discrepancies that are associated with eye witness memory, factors that
question the credibility of the application of the concept in the process of
administering justice. With this background knowledge, the study will explain this
psychological phenomenon through an analysis of the existing literature, theory as
well as previous studies that have been conducted before on the topic of discussion.
Ultimately, this discussion will result into a comprehensive and equally subtle
analysis that will thoroughly substantiate the hypotheses enumerated earlier and
provide concrete responses to the research questions with clarity and soundness in
understanding. Ultimately, informed inferences will be made based on the analysis of
the results. The results of this study will yield various policy recommendations that
could adopted in order to advance the application of eye witness memory even
further.
References

Charles P. Thompson, . J. (2014). Eyewitness Memory: Theoretical and Applied

Perspectives. Hove: Psychology Press.

Gordon Willard Allport, . J. (1947). The psychology of rumor. New York: Rinehart &
Winston.

Loftus, E. (2006). Eye Witness Testimony. Havard University Press.

Loftus, E. (1987). Some facts about weapon focus. Law and Human Behavior , 55-62.

Sir Frederic Charles Bartlett, . C. (1995). Remembering: A Study in Experimental and

Social Psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.