The Accuracy of an Eyewitness Testimony Student: Amy Mason Number: 2842657 Tutor: Serena Nicholls Tutorial Time: Thursday 10am - 10:50am Due date: Friday 21st September 21‚ 2012 Word count: 1858 Psychological research shows that eyewitness testimony is not always accurate‚ therefore it should not be used in the criminal justice system. Discuss. The reliability if an eyewitness testimony is questionable. The witness may be so certain that the person that thy are pointing out is one hundred
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Identification of Area Eyewitness testimonies are a very important area within cognitive psychology and relates directly to the human brain and memory. Cognitive psychology refers to the study of an individual’s internal processes‚ more specifically how they perceive information‚ how they learn‚ remember and think. The way that an individual functions cognitively directly impacts the eyewitness statement that they give‚ as we all perceive and recall information differently. By questioning the validity
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I always thought that eyewitness testimony was a bullet proof plan in the judicial system. I always thought that eyewitness testimony wasn’t malleable. You would think that when you are being raped and you analyze the rapist face you will know exactly who it is. I never considered how a weapon can effect what the brain focuses on. But if I thought about it more it does make sense. Because your brain is in survival mode because there is a knife to your neck. Your brain is not focusing on remembering
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Psychology Loftus and Palmer (1974) Aim: To test their hypothesis that that language used in eyewitness testimony can differ memory. Method: Forty-five American students formed an opportunity sample. This was a laboratory experiment with five conditions‚ only one of which was experienced by each participant (an independent measures design). Participants were shown slides of a car accident involving a number of cars and asked to describe what had happened as if they were eyewitnesses. They
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Validity of Eyewitness Testimony Validity of Eyewitness Testimony In today’s court system one of the strongest pieces of evidence‚ or that most commonly accepted as fact by a jury‚ is eyewitness testimony. When correct‚ eyewitness accounts can aid in the conviction of many guilty people. However when it is incorrect‚ eyewitness testimony can do severe damage. Researchers have found that "more innocent citizens are wrongfully tried and convicted on the basis of eyewitness evidence in Great Britain
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The eyewitness testimony is a crucial part of any case presented before a judge and a jury. It affects the decisions immensely and can mean the difference between conviction and a free walk for a criminal. The validity of the testimony is crucial to convicting the right person‚ though even when the person is under oath‚ mistakes can be made. Eyewitness testimony is a complicated business‚ though many believe it hurts more than it helps in many cases due to distractions and third parties. An eyewitness
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Overall eyewitness evidence strength was further examined across prosecution outcomes in the eyewitness identification alone cases” (Flowe‚ 2011). When it comes to being a creditable source of being an eye witness there are many things that‚ factor how using someone’s testimony as accountable source. When it comes to linking and eyewitness testimony and the accusing someone under false pretenses there has been amplitude of research that has being placed into forensic psychology to help see how useful
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Based on the contents of the video‚ it is quite clear to me that eyewitness testimony is a vital part of the criminal justice process. However‚ just like every other aspect of the criminal justice system it has to be treated seriously and used with care. Failure to do this can lead to several problems in the criminal justice process such as‚ leading questions and cognitive interview errors. As a result of these errors‚ they were subsequently highly analyzed and challenged by Elizabeth Loftus.Leading
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hundred percent confidence. The eyewitness identification proved to be sufficient enough to convince the jury of Cotton’s guilt and sentence him to life in prison. After 11 years of rotting in his cell Ron Cotton was exonerated with the help of DNA evidence. The numbers of exonerations are on the rise and this poses the question whether eyewitness testimony is truly reliable? Research in cognitive psychology exposes major flaws in retrieval of long-term memory and studies exhibit how easily malleable
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According to Lehman and Phelps (2005)‚ Using the eyewitness testimony law enforcement personnel can bring back anyone near the crime scene who they suspect is the perpetrator in hopes of detaining the correct suspect. Eyewitness’s testimony can be the key to recognizing‚ charging‚ and convicting a suspect in a criminal case. Moreover‚ in certain cases‚ eyewitness evidence could be the only evidence available to solve a crime. Yet in various cases eyewitness evidence can lead to the conviction of the wrong
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