PSY 200 1st Edition Lecture 13 Current Lecture Eyewitness Testimony Memory errors can be have huge consequences Persuasiveness of Eyewitnesses Most persuasive form of evidence Loftus 1983 Discredited Eyewitnesses Further research concludes that discredited eyewitnesses are not as persuasive as a credible eyewitness more persuasive than no eyewitness Better to have similar looking group less chance of blaming the innocent Even gibing positive feedback after eyewitness ID can increase confidence of witness when otherwise they were unsure Suggests that officer conducting line up should not know which person is the suspect Avoiding Memory Errors Sequential line ups High similarity of people on line up No feedback to witnesses Line up conducted by blind officer and get immediate confidence rating Explicitly state that perpetrator may not use in line up Emotion and Memory Better memory for emotionally charged words La Bar and Phelps 1998 Why does Emotion Enhance Memory Memory modulators arousal produces epinephrine in body epinephrine leads to release of glucose glucose improves memory Increases activity in hippocampus because of amygdala response to emotion Rehearse it more Sometimes emotion leads to less recall Flashbulb Memories Highly emotional and personal events are burned into memory like a photograph These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute Potential Problems No way of knowing if the memory is accurate Confidence is high but not details Vividness While accuracy of memory may not be better vividness is much higher The more consequential to you the higher the vividness Memory Enhancement Emotion does promote better recall in some circumstances Flashbulb memories not necessarily more accurate but definitely more vivid Savants Some are synesthetes abnormal binding e g colors and letters or sounds and tastes