Bovenberg, Charlotte (2023) The Effect of Memorability on Eyewitnesses’ Recognition of Crime Scene Elements. Bachelor thesis, Psychology.
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Abstract
Although eyewitness testimony has historically lacked reliability, it continues to be a crucial influence in many criminal trials. A witness’s memory of a crime consists of an engram, an encapsulation of all parts of the experience. The structure of the associations within engrams is disputed, with most evidence pointing toward the dependent theory which states that the associations are stored together. The strength of these associations can be influenced by individual item properties such as memorability, the probability that an observer will detect the repetition of a stimulus. The current study aims to explore whether a crime scene’s memorability influences an eyewitness’s reliability. Furthermore, it aspires to investigate whether the data provide evidence for the dependent theory. Over three experiments, participants (N=58) were presented with triplets of images and instructed to imagine themselves as part of a crime scene involving all three stimuli. Half of the triplets included a high memorability image. Participants’ recognition of different aspects of these crime scenes was tested. The results indicate that participants’ recognition accuracy was higher for high-memorability triplets. Consequently, there is a positive relationship between the reliability of eyewitness testimony and a crime scene’s memorability. Furthermore, the data show slight support for the dependent theory. The used episodic memory research paradigm represents a novel experimental design in the field of eyewitness memory research. However, the study suffers from a lack of power due to its small sample size.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Nieuwenstein, M.R. |
| Degree programme: | Psychology |
| Differentiation route: | None [Bachelor Psychology] |
| Date Deposited: | 11 Apr 2023 07:50 |
| Last Modified: | 11 Apr 2023 07:50 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/1880 |
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