Applications of Memory
Research to Legal Psychology and Eyewitness Memory
The Misinformation Effect
Suggestibility in Older Adults
100

Our memories readily incorporate information from
other sources into our original memory of an event

Misremember information

100

Who developed the methodology

Developed by Elizabeth Loftus

100

Older adults are more susceptible to a host of memory illusions that can be caused by

Suggestive statements  
Misattribution of source
Associative meaning

200

The tendency to incorporate information from sources
other than the original witnessed event

Suggestibility

200

Experimental study by Cochran resulted in

The majority of participants failed to detect the alteration in their own reports  
Many participants incorporated the misinformation into theirmemory report in a final memory test  

200

The Recognition test showed that

Older participants showed a bigger misinformation
effect than did younger participants

300

What can subtly influence the nature of a
witness’s memory

Wording

300

The study by Gordan et al. showed

Repeated questioning by the police can leave witnesses more susceptible to misleading questions later

300

What is Source memory

The ability of an individual to remember from whom or where he or she learned something

400

How much of a change can wording affect memory

The simple change from an indefinite article to a
definite article raised the rate of false memory
from 7% to 18% 

400

What is the Coexistance hypothesis

One memory about the original event and then form a second memory of reading questions or a summary after the event it is composed of both retrieved information from the first event and any new information derived from the postevent questions

400

What are Misidentifications in perceptions

When older adults misperceive an object, they will often forget the correction that then leads them to correctly identify the object

500

What are the contributions of legal psychology 

Many aspects of the legal system reflect important
psychological processes
Witnesses to crimes must rely on memory to help
police with their investigations
Interrogation of criminal suspects also depends
heavily on psychological research

500

What is Trace impairment view

Original memory is altered by the misinformation.
Also called the “blending” view, as the new memory is a blending of the original event and the memory of the later information, including the misinformation

500

Divided attention can lead older adults to make

Misattribution of Source