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Eyewitness memory is still not common sense: comparing jurors, judges and law enforcement to eyewitness experts
Author(s) -
Benton Tanja Rapus,
Ross David F.,
Bradshaw Emily,
Thomas W. Neil,
Bradshaw Gregory S.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
applied cognitive psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.719
H-Index - 100
eISSN - 1099-0720
pISSN - 0888-4080
DOI - 10.1002/acp.1171
Subject(s) - psychology , eyewitness testimony , law enforcement , eyewitness memory , eyewitness identification , sample (material) , social psychology , legal psychology , law , recall , cognitive psychology , political science , relation (database) , chemistry , chromatography , database , computer science
Knowledge of factors affecting eyewitness accuracy was examined in a sample of jurors, judges and law enforcement professionals. Participants completed a survey in which they were asked to agree or disagree with 30 statements about eyewitness issues, and their responses were compared to a sample of eyewitness experts who completed the same survey. Participant responses differed significantly from responses of eyewitness experts. Jurors disagreed with the experts on 87% of the issues, while judges and law enforcement disagreed with the experts on 60% of the issues. The findings show a large deficiency in knowledge of eyewitness memory amongst jurors, judges and law enforcement personnel, indicating that the legal system may benefit from expert assistance in the evaluation of eyewitness evidence. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.