Deck 7: Section 2: Eyewitness Identification and Testimony

Question 1

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

A) Storage
B) Retrieval
C) Encoding
D) Priming

Answer 1

Retrieval

Question 2

In the construction of memory, it is not uncommon to find that distortion may take place as we try to retrieve that memory. The following is NOT TRUE about this process:

A) With encoding, we may select only some aspects of the event when forming the memory.
B) Memory traces deteriorate with time passing.
C) Various sounds encoded when processing a memory are easy to retrieve.
D) Distortions of memories can occur during the process of retrieval.

Answer 2

Various sounds encoded when processing a memory are easy to retrieve.

Question 3

The Manson criteria, emphasized by courts, consist of five factors to be taken into account when evaluating eyewitness identification accuracy. The following factor was clearly disproven by research:

A) the level of attention the witness was paying to what was going on.
B) the level of confidence the witness is exhibiting about his or her memory of the event.
C) the amount of time between the crime and identification event.
D) the accuracy of the witness's previous descriptions of the event or perpetrator.

Answer 3

the level of confidence the witness is exhibiting about his or her memory of the event.

Question 4

The maintenance of information over time within the brain is referred to as:

A) storage.
B) retrieval.
C) encoding.
D) processing.

Question 5

According to psychologists, memory is a _____-part component process.

A) two
B) three
C) four
D) five

Question 6

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 _____.

A) stress; concern
B) biased questioning; stress
C) lineup procedures; confusion
D) biased questioning; lineup procedures

Question 7

Eyewitness testimony is very important in the court trials. It has been a subject of multiple research studies. Psychological studies find that eyewitness testimony is:

A) more reliable than most people think.
B) more fallible that one would suppose.
C) only reliable if preceded by expert testimony.
D) more reliable in court than in police settings.

Question 8

Even though the Supreme Court _____ the Manson framework, several states continue to _____ criteria established in Manson.

A) tried to amend; apply the scientifically proven
B) refused to amend; to reconsider the outdated
C) amended; refuse to apply the
D) amended; apply the outdated

Question 9

Cross-racial identifications are generally _____ accurate than/as same-race identifications.

A) somewhat more
B) less
C) as
D) a great deal more

Question 10

When describing memory, _____ is the first component required in the process necessary for retention.

A) storage
B) retrieval
C) top-down processing
D) encoding

Question 11

Memory is not a perfect procedure. Errors can take place at any given point in the process and memories may not last forever. _____ is the term used to describe the biochemical representation of our experiences within the brain.

A) Heuristics
B) Bottom-up processing
C) Top-down processing
D) Memory trace

Question 12

According to the text, estimates of time during the course of a stressful event are _____ the actual length of the event.

A) about half of
B) almost twice
C) three to four times
D) over ten times

Question 13

Cross-race effect has been shown to be consistently strong:

A) regardless of exposure to races other than one's own.
B) despite special training intended to reduce it.
C) for people of different ages.
D) for those from bi-racial families.

Question 14

Wrongful convictions have been shown to result from faulty eyewitness testimony _____ from any other type of evidence.

A) less frequently than
B) as often as
C) more often than
D) None of the above is correct.

Question 15

According to the text, the cross-race effect is present in babies as young as:

A) 6 months.
B) 9 months.
C) 12 months.
D) 18 months.

Question 16

The memory process is often described as having the following component(s):

A) encoding, storage, retrieval.
B) storage, retrieval, identification.
C) retrieval, storage, processing.
D) processing, encoding, storage.

Question 17

The tendency of people to be better able to recognize faces of those within their racial group than those outside their own racial group is referred to as:

A) the cross-race effect.
B) the meta-analysis effect.
C) the same-race effect.
D) prejudice.

Question 18

Individuals often _____ the duration of a brief event, especially if it is a(n) _____ event.

A) underestimate; stressful
B) overestimate; stressful
C) underestimate; interesting
D) overestimate; interesting

Question 19

Eyewitnesses depend on _____ to identify or describe a suspect.

A) scientists
B) police assistance
C) memory
D) evidence

Question 20

The term _____ is part of memory processing. It entails gathering information and putting it into a form that can be retrieved later on.

A) storage
B) retrieval
C) encoding
D) heuristics

Question 21

When the eyewitness is a child, it is likely that the accuracy of information they can provide is _____ that provided by an adult.

A) more accurate compared to
B) less accurate compared to
C) as accurate as.
D) more likely to be impacted by retrieval inhibition than

Question 22

Alternative suspects in the lineup or photo spread are called:

A) accomplices.
B) fillers.
C) co-defendants.
D) bystanders.

Question 23

When doing research, social scientists often look at many factors. Factors that are outside the control of the legal system are referred to as:

A) system variables.
B) dependent variables.
C) independent variables.
D) estimator variables.

Question 24

Research is an important part of understanding how eyewitness accounts are derived. As such, a range of factors are often considered. Those factors that are within the control of the justice system are:

A) system variables.
B) dependent variables.
C) independent variables.
D) estimator variables.

Question 25

The process of having an eyewitness looking at one person or photograph at a time is referred to as _____ lineups.

A) simultaneous
B) coinciding
C) sequential
D) consequential

Question 26

The reassignment of a face that is familiar from another context to the scene of a crime is referred to as:

A) retrieval inhibition.
B) scripts.
C) own-race bias.
D) unconscious transference.

Question 27

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

A) higher
B) lower
C) similar
D) None of the above is correct about eyewitness identification.

Question 28

When presented with a lineup, Alexis was able to identify the perpetrator of a robbery she had witnessed. She was not sure of her identification at first, but when the investigator mentioned that another witness had also chosen the same suspect, her confidence that she remembered the perpetrator well grew close to 100%. This is an illustration of:

A) scripts.
B) unconscious transference.
C) post-identification feedback effect.
D) bias-reducing instructions.

Question 29

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

A) retrieval inhibition.
B) scripts.
C) meta-analysis.
D) unconscious transference.

Question 30

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:

A) "the true criminal might not be in the lineup or photo spread."
B) "the true criminal is probably in the lineup or photo spread."
C) "the entire case rests on the selection of someone in the lineup or photo spread."
D) "the detective has a strong feeling that one of the suspects is in the lineup or photo spread."

Question 31

Retrieval inhibition occurs when an individual:

A) selectively recalls some aspects of a situation while the recall of other aspects is suppressed.
B) retrieves some aspects of a crime scene, while consciously ignoring other aspects.
C) selectively recalls some of the aspects of a situation but cannot express them in words.
D) generally inhibits about half of all retrieved memories.

Question 32

As described in the text, techniques for refreshing witness memories include:

A) hypnosis and cognitive interview.
B) hypnosis and hypnotic hypernesia.
C) lineups and photo spreads.
D) lineups and meta-analysis.

Question 33

The benefit of a cognitive interview is that:

A) memories become fragmented and well-defined.
B) the eyewitness enters a highly suggestive state.
C) the eyewitness becomes more receptive to questions.
D) it mentally reinstates the context surrounding the crime.

Question 34

Cognitive dissonance may best be described as:

A) an uncomfortable feeling when someone has conflicting thoughts.
B) a tendency to maintain a course of action.
C) a tendency to become less certain of your opinion.
D) an uncomfortable feeling when someone is positive of being right.