PSYCH 140M Lecture Notes - Lecture 37: Eyewitness Testimony, Facial Composite, Psych
Document Summary
Eyewitness testimony of older adults less accurate than younger adults. Older people more likely to choose someone from a lineup even when culprit is. Older people more strongly influenced by misleading suggestions. Showed older (avg 68) and younger (avg 19) subjects a burglary/police- chase video and later to answer questionnaire about what they saw. Example: when the police said, pull over or we"ll shoot! You"re under arrest," did the driver pull over? (actually, police officers never threatened to shoot) Older adults much more likely to report false memories triggered by misleading info. Older adults also much more confident that their false memories were true. Main ways of conveying information about faces of criminals: verbal description, Photo-fit, and police sketch artist (all have pretty poor results) Suspect presented with non-suspects with similar physical characteristics. Witness asked if they can identify anyone as a criminal.
