Memory is the mental capacity to encode, store, and retrieve information. Through memories we carry carried knowledge we have gained from our skills, our past, our experiences, and the shared knowledge we have developed informally and formally through our lives. Through memories, we grow our personal sense of identity and our sense of our place within the shared knowledge and shared life of our communities.
Eyewitness testimony is a legal term. It refers to an account given by people of an event they have witnessed. Eyewitness testimony is an important area of research in cognitive psychology and human memory. Jury’s tend to pay close attention to eyewitness testimony and generally find it a reliable source of information. However, research into this area has found that eyewitness testimony can be affected by many psychological factors.
It is important to remember that humans are always shaped by influences and different perspectives. If we as humans are changed by this, then surely our memories will also change over time. People from the same event have similar memories and experiences, whilst sharing memories the story will change. One can
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This, however, cannot be done with every piece of information we acquire since it is not humanly possible. Memory therefore proves to be a untrustworthy way of knowing that can only be trusted in very specific cases like the ones pointed out previously. Historians always try to get the most unbiased and true information possible in order for them to then share their knowledge, but this is only viable to a certain limited point. A solution to this everlasting limitation is receiving information from as many sources as possible and then coming out with one’s own conclusions. Doing so might not conserve the truth in historical information, but it is the closest we can get to acquiring knowledge through the use of
Eyewitness accounts play a huge role in general in trials and verdicts, but may be unreliable many times, with certain views placed on evidence provided by children. Unreliability may arise from not being able to recount the identity of the accused, the actions and speech occurring during that time, the relationship of individuals towards the person in question, and many
Followed by the lack of corroboration, which is an important aspect in courtrooms, “corroboration will add credibility to the memory and lack of it may raise doubts about the allegations.” Loftus considers that relying on memory is not a valid way of justice; the legal system needs to improve when eyewitness testimonials are used in the courts. Loftus confides as a psychologist that psychological science has taught them about human memory and that the research has revealed the limits of human memory. Adding on, these research findings need to be incorporated in procedures to improve the court system. She hopes readers will acknowledge the fact that the use of memories in a trial can be problematic since they are “dangerous” and can lead to false
In the book “Picking Cotton”, the former Burlington Police Chief Mike Gauldin, who was the lead detective on Jennifer’s case, was certainly sure that Ronald Cotton was the guy he was looking for after Jennifer picked him twice (Jennifer, Ronald, Erin 80); also, on the McCallum’s case, the polices also chose to trust eyewitnesses when they did not have enough physical evidences. Furthermore, judges can be wrong sometime. Wise and Safer, who are authors of the report “ what US judges know and believe about eyewitness testimony”, surveyed 160 U.S. judges to determine how much they know about eyewitness testimony on a small test( Wise, Safer, 427-432). However, the survey responds the average judges in the U.S. only 55% correct within 14 questions (Wise, Safer, 431-432). Moreover, most of the judges who were surveyed did not know key facts about eyewitness testimony.
Part One is very informational and contains the bulk of the book’s research. The information was presented in a thesis format; Loftus stated a claim and then supported her ideas with research and quotations from experts in the field of law and memory. Part One is helpful for psychologists, attorneys, and interested law people. The major principles concerning the errors in eyewitness testimony are supported by research and are accepted by psychologists (Kassin, Ellsworth, & Smith, 1989). Part One will contribute to the future of psychology by showcasing how the memory works and the different ways it is manipulated and changed: this will allow jurors and lawyers to become more wary when dealing with a traumatized
Bauckham argues the importance and credibility of the eyewitnesses within the gospel. The eyewitnesses “set the oral traditions” as well as “ remained important figures (19).” The author then amends his original argument to include the reasoning behind only certain eyewitnesses being named. He states, “the gospels are much closer to the way the eyewitnesses told, “ than researchers and historians originally believed. These named individual, or major characters, became members of the early Christian church (20).
This week’s topic was very interesting to learn about how important eyewitnesses can be when a crime and accidents do occur. In the case that was presented in the 60-minute segment of Ronald Cotton and Jennifer Thompson is exactly how legal system can fail us when it comes to the eyewitnesses’ identification testimony and how a person’s perception and memory can be altered. The aspect of psychology and law research from this week’s course material is most relevant to the topic of perception and memory. The memory has different stages the first is encoding the process of entering perception into memory.
Human beings often claim to be searching for the truth. The truth often entails finding the right answer, choice, or formula. The search for truth develops a tendency to settle for the easiest choice—a false truth; more often than not, a false truth goes unquestioned in order to remain benighted. Concerning the false truth in The Things They Carried, information—specifically memories, must be sorted into two categories: those stories that are true and those which are simply glorified recreational war stories. It would be a near impossible task due to the extent that the tales mix.
This creates a major issue within a judicial system. It takes a few eye witness testimonies towards the prosecuted individual to incarcerate them, even if they did not commit the crime. It is because of this reason that Scott Fraser chooses to speak out against eye witness testimonies. In his speech, he argues that memory is fallible and should not be as heavily relied upon within the judicial system.
Furthermore, there can be several factors at play when a wrongful conviction occurs and each case is unique. Three of the more common and detrimental factors that will be explored in this essay are eyewitness error, the use of jailhouse informants and professional and institutional misconduct. Firstly, eyewitness testimony can be a major contributor to a conviction and is an important factor in wrongful conviction (Campbell & Denov, 2016, p. 227). Witness recall and, frankly, the human emory are not as reliable as previously thought. In fact there has been much research showing the problems with eyewitness testimony such as suggestive police interviewing, unconscious transference, and malleability of confidence (Campbell & Denov, 2016, p.227).
Eyewitness identification is ineffective and unjust. Studies have shown that 40% of eyewitness identifications are wrong (Vrij, 1998). Eyewitness identification has great importance in the legal system. This requires the best eyewitness testimony procedure. This essay examines the three main types of eyewitness line-ups; the showup, the sequential and the simultaneous line-up.
Dichen Choden Bhutia Mr. Bodh Prakash MA English Classical Greek Literature 4th Semester 22nd February 2017 Comment on the centrality of the memory and memorialization in Homer’s Odyssey. Memory is our capacity to store, carry, and remember the past encounters and events in the human mind. It can be considered as the utilization of past experience to influence or impact current conduct. Memory is the result of what we recall, and gives us the capacity to take in and adjust from past encounters and also to put together connections.
Post Event Information Post event information is information that has been provided to an individual after they have witnessed an event. Misleading (incorrect) post event information can dramatically alter a person’s recollection of events (Loftus, 1992), and is often referred to as the ‘misinformation effect’ (Loftus, 2005). Misinformation can cause serious errors in recollection, information can be given deliberately or, more commonly, accidentally. This may happen through police interviews or general enquiries after the witnessed event has taken place. A prime example of this can be found in Gabbert et al.
2.1 Representation and identity A Cultural theorist, also a leading figure of the development of media and cultural studies, Stuart Hall’s cultural representation theory is very representative and has a significant impact in the field of cultural studies. His book “Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices” published in 1997 is a study of the crucial links between language, culture and how shared meanings are constructed and represented within the language. Hall believes culture plays the primary role in how we construct meaning and representation was closely related to culture. Representation is the process by which meaning is produced and exchanged between members of a culture through the use of language, such as
When I was only a couple of months old my mom and I were stuck in an airport due to delayed flights. The only luggage we had was my diaper bag and a backpack full of baby toys. I was miserable and cranky the whole entire time which didn’t make my mom feel better. At the time I had no idea what was going on but now that will be stamped in my memories forever.
Due to the possibility of false memories, and some specific details to one like not ebing recorded, it is difficult to corroborate the events they describe. With limited individuals point of view, it is difficult to create a clear image of the time period.