Tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth

The other day a friend and I were arguing about a past event, and it was funny how we both had different views on what had actually happened. After our argument I thought it would be interesting to do some reading on human memory and recall. I found some very interesting information on eyewitness reports and thought I should share it on my blog.

Eyewitness reports are believed to provide strong evidence, because it is believed that the way a person remembers an event must be the way it actually happened. Human memory is thought of as simply playing a video or a DVD, events are recorded, stored then replayed exactly how they were recorded. However, many psychologist would argue that human memory is not as simple as playing a video or DVD, rather it is much complicated.

Scientific research has focused on the role of memory in legal eyewitness testimony. Research shows that errors in memory are systematic and are more likely to occur in events that are reported in courtroom testimony: reports of strangers performing brief, violent or unexpected acts that are frightening to the observer/witness. Elizabeth Loftus  found that when an event is recalled, it is not accurately re-created. Instead, it is a reconstruction of the actual event. She argues that reconstructed memory is caused by the use of new and existing information to fill in the gaps in our recall of an experience. Although, most would argue that memories are stable, Loftus argued that memories are malleable and changeable over time. After conducting several experiments, Loftus proposed that integration of new information into memory of original experiences, recall of an event may be altered.

So, how hard is it to tell the truth? It’s hard to recall what exactly happened during an event, when there are so many factors affecting recall and subsequent testimonies. According to research, in order to identify the physical reality of the event, witnesses must have a sufficient opportunity to view the event from a certain position. Studies found that accuracy of witness decisions was significantly influenced by the distance between the witness and the target at the time of exposure; the greater the distance the less information was encoded and remembered. In addition to distance, lighting conditions, especially back lighting, reflections, and shadows impact the ability to see define details.

Two other factors that affect recall and subsequent testimonies is, allocation of attention and bias in attentional focus. Your thoughts, feelings and emotions at the time of an event play a vital role in encoding and remembering information. A strong sense of stimulation will enhance recall of a certain event. Studies have found that focusing your attention greatly improves the amount and quality of information you pick up from the specific stimulation on which your attention is focused; but that focus reduces the amount you pick up from the rest of the scene. Evidence shows that eyewitness memory for persons encountered during events that are personally relevant, highly stressful, and realistic in nature may be subject to substantial error. Studies have found that the presence of a weapon will narrow attention. People focus their attention on the weapon so much that almost everything else that is happening goes unnoticed and therefore unremembered.

So, note to self, next time i argue about an event, I shall remember all of the above!