A false memory is a recollection of an event, or details of an event, that did not actually occur. This phenomenon highlights that human memory is not a perfect, video-like recording of the past but is instead a reconstructive process capable of creating memories for things that never happened.

False Memories

The 2002 DC sniper attacks provide a stark real-world illustration of suggestibility's impact on criminal investigations. Over a three-week period, a series of shootings that killed ten people created widespread fear, leading law enforcement to receive over 140,000 tips. The investigation was significantly misdirected after a white van was spotted at one shooting site and this detail was publicized by the police chief. Following this news conference, numerous other eyewitnesses reported seeing a white van, likely influenced by the suggestion. This led police and the public to focus almost exclusively on this incorrect lead, ignoring other tips. The error of this focus was revealed when the suspects were finally caught driving a blue sedan, highlighting how external misinformation can create false memories and derail an investigation.

DC Sniper Attacks as an Example of Suggestibility

Suggestion acts as a direct cause for the formation of false memories. This causal relationship occurs when an individual internalizes a proposed idea or piece of information from an external source, subsequently creating a memory for something that was merely suggested rather than genuinely experienced.

Suggestion as a Cause of False Memories

The case of Jennifer Thompson and Ronald Cotton is a landmark example of wrongful conviction driven by eyewitness misidentification. During the initial police identification, Thompson was uncertain, stating she thought Cotton was the perpetrator and that he 'looks most like him.' However, by the time of the trial, this uncertainty had transformed into absolute conviction, heavily influenced by suggestive police procedures. Her compelling testimony led to Cotton's conviction and a sentence of life plus 50 years. Despite a second trial resulting in two life sentences, Cotton was exonerated 11 years later when DNA evidence definitively proved his innocence, showing he had served more than a decade for a crime he did not commit.

The Case of Jennifer Thompson and Ronald Cotton

To reduce the suggestibility of witnesses, interview practices can be modified to use neutral and less leading language. This approach is particularly effective for child witnesses, as it helps them provide more accurate recollections of events and individuals involved.

Modified Questioning Techniques for Witnesses

Suggestibility and misattribution are both memory distortion errors that result in false memories. The primary distinction between them is the origin of the misinformation. In misattribution, the false memory is generated internally by the individual. In suggestibility, the false memory is formed by incorporating misleading information from an external source.

Comparison of Suggestibility and Misattribution

Read the following scenario. Analyze how the witness's final testimony was likely shaped by a specific type of memory distortion. Identify the distortion and explain the process by which their memory was altered, referencing specific details from the scenario.

Eyewitness Memory Analysis

Analyze the witness's changing recollection of the event. Explain the psychological process that accounts for the witness's memory of the car 'speeding' and the presence of a 'large dent' that they did not initially observe.

Eyewitness Memory Distortion

False memories can be created as a result of suggestibility. When an individual is exposed to misinformation from external sources, the fragility of memory allows this incorrect information to take root, causing the person to remember details that did not actually occur.

False Memories via Suggestibility

The public response to the 2002 DC sniper attacks illustrates the fragility of memory in high-stress situations. Over three weeks, a series of shootings left ten people dead, causing widespread terror. When a police tip hotline was set up, law enforcement received over 140,000 tips leading to approximately 35,000 possible suspects, highlighting how easily witnesses can be misled or form inaccurate memories.

Eyewitness Suggestibility Example: DC Sniper Attacks

During a series of shootings, a police chief broadcasted a picture of a white van spotted at one of the crime scenes. Following this exposure to leading information, several other eyewitnesses claimed they also saw a white van fleeing the scene. This led police and the public to focus exclusively on the more than 70,000 white vans in the area and ignore other tips. This case illustrates how suggestibility and the misinformation effect can influence eyewitness memory, as the suspects were ultimately found driving a blue sedan.

White Van Case

In a 1974 study by Loftus and Palmer, the perceived speed of two cars that have crashed into each other varied based on the questioner's verb. The data showed that the verb 'smashed' resulted in a perceived speed of about 41 mph. The estimated speeds for other verbs were about 39 mph for 'collided', about 37 mph for 'bumped', about 34 mph for 'hit', and about 32 mph for 'contacted'.

Loftus and Palmer Study on Perceived Speed

Suggestibility is a memory distortion error where individuals accept and incorporate misinformation from external sources into their personal recollections. This process, which can be triggered by leading questions from sources like a therapist or a police interviewer, can lead to the creation of false memories for events or details that were only suggested, not actually experienced.

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Human memory is not a perfect recording device; it is flexible and susceptible to numerous errors. These inaccuracies can lead to feelings of frustration or embarrassment and have significant real-world consequences, such as the demonstrated unreliability of eyewitness testimony in legal contexts.

Problems with Memory

In 2001, psychologist Daniel Schacter introduced a framework outlining seven common memory failures, which he called the 'seven sins of memory.' He organized these errors into three distinct categories:

*   **Sins of Forgetting**: Transience, Absentmindedness, Blocking
*   **Sins of Distortion**: Misattribution, Suggestibility, Bias
*   **Sin of Intrusion**: Persistence

Schacter’s Seven Sins of Memory

Despite the known fragility of human memory, the legal system, including police, prosecutors, and courts, often depends heavily on eyewitness testimony for criminal prosecutions. This reliance is problematic because memory is a reconstructive process, making eyewitness accounts susceptible to errors that can lead to faulty identifications and, ultimately, wrongful convictions.

Eyewitness Testimony and its Unreliability

Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020, April 22). Psychology (2nd ed.). OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/1-introduction

OpenStax Psychology (2nd ed.) Textbook

* Amnesia
* Dementia
* Alzheimer's Disease

Disorders of Memory

Forgetting is defined as the loss of information from long-term memory. This is a universal human experience, manifesting in everyday situations like forgetting a name, a birthday, or the location of personal items like car keys. Such memory failures, while common, can be a source of frustration and embarrassment, underscoring the fragile nature of human memory.

Forgetting

Suggestibility

Misattribution is a type of memory error comprised of forgetting the correct source of information. For example, misattribution occurs as a person believes they had a certain conversation with their best friend, but in reality, they had that conversation with their parent.

Misattribution 

Misleading information that is presented to someone after witnessing event can change how they recall and explain that event. One common explanation is retroactive interference (new learning interfering with old memory/understanding)

Misinformation  Effect Paradigm

Memory errors, or failures in remembering, can be broadly classified into different categories. A prominent framework is Schacter's 'Seven Sins of Memory,' which divides errors into sins of omission (forgetting) and sins of commission (distortions). Other significant errors include those stemming from the misinformation effect, source misattribution, and pragmatic inferences.

Classification of Memory Errors

Elizabeth Loftus is a cognitive psychologist known for her extensive research on human memory. Her work has significantly contributed to the understanding of false memories and the concept of recovered memories, particularly in the context of childhood sexual abuse. Loftus is also credited with developing the misinformation effect paradigm.

Elizabeth Loftus

The concept of repressed memories, originating with Sigmund Freud, posits that memories of traumatic experiences can be unconsciously blocked from awareness. This idea has been a significant and controversial topic within psychology, with ongoing debate about its validity and the mechanisms through which memories might be recovered.

Repressed Memories

To counteract the natural fallibility and errors of the human memory system, various strategies can be employed. Common techniques include the use of mnemonic devices, rehearsal, self-referencing, and ensuring adequate sleep. These methods are also beneficial for enhancing learning and studying effectively.

Strategies to Combat Memory Failure

Analyze the following scenario and identify the specific memory error that leads the witness to recall seeing broken glass. Explain the psychological process responsible for this inaccurate memory.

Transience is one of Schacter's seven sins of memory, describing the natural fading of memories over time. This process is also known as storage decay, where unused information gradually becomes less accessible. As time passes, memories that are not revisited or used tend to weaken and may eventually be lost.

Transience

Absentmindedness is a common memory error characterized by lapses in memory that occur due to breaks in attention or because one's focus is directed elsewhere. These memory failures are not about losing information permanently but rather about failing to encode it properly because of inattention.

Absentmindedness

Blocking is a memory error that occurs when information is known to be stored in memory but is temporarily inaccessible. This failure to retrieve information often leads to the frustrating experience known as the 'tip-of-the-tongue' phenomenon, where one feels that the memory is just out of reach.

Blocking

Misattribution is a memory distortion error where an individual confuses the source of a memory. This error is generated internally, meaning the person creates the false memory on their own without external suggestion. While the information itself may be recalled correctly, its connection to the right time, place, or person is wrong.

Misattribution

Bias is a type of memory distortion where an individual's personal feelings and worldview unconsciously shape their recollection of past events. According to psychologist Daniel Schacter, this cognitive bias can alter memories to be more consistent with one's current beliefs or emotional state.

Bias in Memory

Persistence is the seventh of Schacter's memory errors and is characterized by the involuntary recall of unwanted memories. These intrusive recollections, which are often unpleasant or traumatic, can be difficult to suppress and may interfere with an individual's ability to concentrate on other tasks. This phenomenon is considered a failure of the memory system because it involves the persistent and uncontrollable retrieval of memories one would prefer to forget.

Persistence

A witness is interviewed by police immediately after a robbery and gives a detailed description of the perpetrator. A week later, a police officer shows the witness a photo lineup and asks, "Was the man with the scar the one you saw?" The witness, who had not previously mentioned a scar, now incorporates this detail into their memory of the event. Which type of memory error does this scenario best illustrate?

When eyewitnesses receive confirmatory feedback after giving their testimony, their confidence in their understanding and recall of the events is increased. This is a problem because jurors make decisions based on the confident of witnesses, which can be overinflated due to confirmatory feedback regardless of the actual validity.

Post-identification feedback effect

An interview procedure developed by cognitive psychologists based on memory retrieval research and understanding. Allows the witness to talk with little to no interruptions. Uses techniques to try to simulate putting the witness back to the scene of the crime in order to recreate the events.

Cognitive Interview

Information presented after someone witnesses an event that is misleading and can potentially change their memory of that event. It is often problematic in criminal cases when witnesses are given MPI.

Misleading Postevent Information (MPI)

People tend to pay attention to the weapon while a crime is being committed (a highly emotional situation). This can restrict a witness' awarenesses of the events leading up to and during a crime.

Weapons focus

Eye-witness testimonies are likely to be flawed or unreliable if the witness is exposed to an inaccurate account of the crime, particularly if this account comes from another person in a social context. While discussing the crime with co-witnesses may help to improve one’s overall memory of the event, inaccurate information encountered during such an interaction is likely to lead to memory distortions.

The impact of socially encountered misinformation on eye-witness testimonies 

Though human memory is fragile, legal and investigative processes often depend on eyewitness testimony. This reliance is risky, as suggestive police identification procedures can cause eyewitnesses to make incorrect identifications, and such false testimonies can result in wrongful convictions. According to the Innocence Project's analysis of the first 239 DNA exonerations, eyewitness misidentification was a contributing factor in approximately 75% of these cases, establishing it as the leading cause.

Eyewitness Misidentification

An analysis of the first 239 DNA exoneration cases by the Innocence Project identified several common causes of wrongful convictions. Eyewitness misidentification was the most frequent factor, contributing to about 75% of cases. Other significant causes included flawed forensic science (about 49%), false confessions (about 23%), and unreliable informant testimony (about 18%).

Common Causes of Wrongful Conviction in DNA Exoneration Cases

The Innocence Project is a non-profit organization dedicated to exonerating individuals who have been wrongly convicted of crimes. A significant focus of its work is on cases where convictions were based on flawed eyewitness testimony.

The Innocence Project

The investigation into Elizabeth Smart's abduction illustrates the benefits of careful eyewitness management. The sole eyewitness, her nine-year-old sister Mary Katherine, was handled with caution by the FBI and police. To avoid implanting false memories or misleading her, they refrained from using standard procedures like police line-ups or pushing for a composite sketch. This preservation of her memory proved crucial when, months later, she recalled the abductor's voice from a prior encounter, leading to his identification and Elizabeth's safe return.

The Elizabeth Smart Case: An Example of Cautious Eyewitness Procedures

Within the legal system, judges can implement safeguards to address the potential unreliability of eyewitness testimony. These measures include instructing the jury about the possibility of misidentification and having the authority to suppress testimony that is deemed untrustworthy.

Judicial Safeguards for Eyewitness Testimony

From a psychological perspective, analyze why this eyewitness's testimony might be unreliable, despite their high level of confidence. Explain the underlying principles of memory that support your analysis.

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