Exam 7: Eyewitness Identification and Testimony

One promising technique for improving the ability of an eyewitness to remember important information accurately is to relax the eyewitness and mentally reinstate the context surrounding the crime. This approach is known as a:

Sabrina works as a bank teller. When one of the customers pointed a gun at her and demanded that she give him the key to the safe deposit box, she was so frightened that she could barely move. After the customer got the key, Sabrina was told to raise her hands and stand with her face into the wall for the rest of the time the bank robbery was unfolding. About 30 seconds passed between the time when Sabrina first saw the customer and the time she was told to turn to the wall with her hands raised. When recalling the event, she is likely to estimate that 30-second time period to have lasted about:

The benefit of the cognitive interview is that:

Describe three best-practice recommendations regarding improving eyewitness accuracy.

The fact that eyewitness testimony is so powerful in influencing jurors is only a problem if:

A requirement to create an unbiased lineup seems obvious. However, there were many cases of lineups with the fillers not closely resembling the main suspect. Research found that such biased lineups lead to:

Eyewitnesses depend on _____ to identify or describe a suspect.

_____ is the part of the memory process that involves accessing and pulling out stored information at a later time.

Cross-race effect has been shown to maintain consistent strength:

In addition to issues with memory in general, other things can introduce biases. Studies show that interference can take place during the process of identification of a suspect: Witnesses may feel more certain about their memory of an event or perpetrator as a result of _____ and _____.

When it comes to choosing between simultaneous and sequential lineups:

Research is an important part of understanding how eyewitness accounts are derived. As such, a range of factors are often considered. Such factors as the procedures for constructing lineups and questioning witnesses are called:

Cutler, Penrod, and Dexter (1990) conducted several experiments exposing mock jurors to expert testimony about the _____ of eyewitness identification. The authors of this study found that participants who were NOT exposed to the expert testimony _____ the accuracy of eyewitnesses.

Bias-reducing instructions are used to assist eyewitnesses to be accurate in their identification of a suspect. An example of such instructions, as noted in the text, is telling the eyewitness that _____ in the lineup or photo spread.

According to the text, what we generally see and remember is impacted by what we expect to see. This tendency to maintain firmly held beliefs about a sequence of expected behaviors is referred to as:

The Manson criteria, emphasized by courts, consist of five factors to be taken into account when evaluating eyewitness identification accuracy. Which criterion is the most problematic one, according to the text?

Certain ways of initial questioning of the eyewitness can significantly alter his recall of the crime scene. Retrieval inhibition occurs when an individual:

According to a study completed by Morgan and his colleagues (2004), stress appears to have an effect on eyewitness identification. Based on the study results, the rate of correct identification was _____ in low-stress conditions.

According to research studies on eyewitness identification that are described in the text, which one of the following statements is INCORRECT?

Research findings indicate that there are several drawbacks to using hypnosis in forensic settings. Which one of the following statements about the use of hypnosis is INCORRECT?