PY-02 Did You See That? The Effects of Inattentional Blindness on Eyewitness Memory

Abstract

Research suggests that eyewitness memory may not always be reliable as many factors can influence recall following an important event. Specifically, what a person focuses on while witnessing an event can influence what is remembered.

The goal of this research was to investigate whether inducing inattentional blindness affects the accuracy of eyewitness memory. A sample of 67 participants were randomly placed into one of four groups (crime focus, visual stimuli, auditory stimuli, or no direction) which were all given different directions but shown the same video. All groups were given the same recall questionnaire to complete after the video.

Results indicated that accuracy on the recall questionnaire was affected by the type of direction given, with the no direction group having the highest recall accuracy. The results suggest that it is important to address eyewitness focus when evaluating the credibility of their testimony.

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Mar 31st, 10:30 AM Mar 31st, 12:30 PM

PY-02 Did You See That? The Effects of Inattentional Blindness on Eyewitness Memory

Research suggests that eyewitness memory may not always be reliable as many factors can influence recall following an important event. Specifically, what a person focuses on while witnessing an event can influence what is remembered.

The goal of this research was to investigate whether inducing inattentional blindness affects the accuracy of eyewitness memory. A sample of 67 participants were randomly placed into one of four groups (crime focus, visual stimuli, auditory stimuli, or no direction) which were all given different directions but shown the same video. All groups were given the same recall questionnaire to complete after the video.

Results indicated that accuracy on the recall questionnaire was affected by the type of direction given, with the no direction group having the highest recall accuracy. The results suggest that it is important to address eyewitness focus when evaluating the credibility of their testimony.