The first article titled “How Memory and Proactive Interference Influence Eyewitness Testimony”, examines the effects of proactive interference (PI) on memory accuracy and witness testimony. PI is when previously learned information interferes with the recall of new information. The authors conducted two experiments to simulate a police lineup situation in which mock eyewitnesses were exposed to targets with a different level of PI – moderate PI (using multiple faces from previous lineups) or no intervention control. Results showed that exposure to high levels of PI resulted in higher false identification rates, as well as lower correct identification rates than those without any PI present. This finding suggests that even small amounts of interference can negatively affect an eyewitness’s ability to accurately identify a target. Additionally, findings revealed that exposure to high levels of PI affected memories differently for participants depending on their age – older adults experienced more false identifications than younger adults did when similarly exposed to high levels of PI.
Search for two peer-reviewed journal articles on eyewitness testimony using the search term “memory and eyewitness testimony.” Briefly summarize the findings from each article.
The second article titled “Memory Impairments Influencing Eyewitness Testimony: Age-Related Changes and Interaction Effects” investigates the relationship between age and memory impairments influencing witness testimony accuracy. The study implemented an eye-witness paradigm consisting of a live suspect along with photos resembling them across four different age groups (young 18-24; middle 27-43; late 44+). Results showed distinct patterns across groups regarding recognition performance – young adults performed better than both middle aged adults and late adulthood individuals while middle aged individuals were intermediate performers compared to the other two groups studied. In addition, results suggested that elderly individuals often encountered memory impairments due to declines in encoding processes such as vividness or detail rather than poor storage capacity alone which may explain why they are more prone for errors during recall tasks such as lineup identifications at trial proceedings relative to younger people’s capabilities overall .
Overall, these two studies highlight how important it is for investigators working on cases involving eyewitness testimonies consider factors like proactive interference and age when evaluating evidence presented by witnesses so they can accurately assess its credibility accordingly .It also indicates research suggesting ,such measures should be taken into account if we want our legal system justice process operate in its full potential effectiveness