Effects of Temporal Delay on Memory
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Description
The reliability and validity of participants self-reported confidence while making eyewitness memory judgements is a hotly debated topic within the criminal justice system. In current research I hypothesize that eyewitnesses will report greater confidence in memory when given slight affirmation. University of San Diego undergraduates: complete a short survey measuring confidence in memory, view a brief film of a mock robbery, complete an immediate free recall assessment, and answer follow-up questions regarding the crime they witnessed. Participants are then presented with photographic line-ups and are asked to identify the perpetrators. Subjects are randomly assigned to receive either slight positive or negative affirmation of their assessments from the investigator, regardless of their accuracy. Three days later, participants complete an identical assessment instrument to measure any variation in memory and reported confidence. Results, conclusions, and future implications will be discussed.
Effects of Temporal Delay on Memory
The reliability and validity of participants self-reported confidence while making eyewitness memory judgements is a hotly debated topic within the criminal justice system. In current research I hypothesize that eyewitnesses will report greater confidence in memory when given slight affirmation. University of San Diego undergraduates: complete a short survey measuring confidence in memory, view a brief film of a mock robbery, complete an immediate free recall assessment, and answer follow-up questions regarding the crime they witnessed. Participants are then presented with photographic line-ups and are asked to identify the perpetrators. Subjects are randomly assigned to receive either slight positive or negative affirmation of their assessments from the investigator, regardless of their accuracy. Three days later, participants complete an identical assessment instrument to measure any variation in memory and reported confidence. Results, conclusions, and future implications will be discussed.