PSYC3301 Chap.4 Eyewitness Memory

Eyewitness Memory

Eyewitness Memory connects structure, process and observation through encoding, retention and retrieval and system variables.

The chapter is useful when the task is to trace how event and procedure conditions can change the reliability of a witness account, because each claim must identify both the biological or behavioural system and the evidence used to distinguish it.

Locate encoding first: name the relevant structure, population, scale or experimental condition.

A label is not enough; orient it relative to the neighbouring structures or comparison group that gives the label meaning.

Then use retention and retrieval to describe the process linking starting condition to outcome. Keep sequence and direction clear, and separate an observed association from a mechanism that has actually been tested.

Use system variables as the discriminating observation.

Ask what pattern would support the explanation, what plausible alternative could produce a similar pattern and what additional measurement would separate them.

In the application — trace how event and procedure conditions can change the reliability of a witness account — move from observation to interpretation in explicit stages.

Report uncertainty and variation rather than treating a representative diagram, specimen or mean as if every case were identical.

Create an observation ledger for Eyewitness Memory: specimen, participant or system; orientation or experimental condition; feature observed; comparison; and inference. Keep encoding in the observation columns and reserve retention and retrieval for the explanatory step.

This prevents a diagram label or group difference from being reported as a mechanism without supporting evidence.

Use a contrast case to test system variables. Change one anatomical relation, exposure, task condition or comparison group while holding the rest of the scenario stable. Predict which observation should change if the proposed explanation is correct and which result would favour an alternative explanation.

That prediction gives the next measurement a clear purpose.

When revising PSYC3301, alternate identification with explanation. First identify the relevant feature or pattern without notes; then explain how it contributes to trace how event and procedure conditions can change the reliability of a witness account; finally state the uncertainty or boundary that remains.

This sequence exposes the difference between recognising a familiar image or term and using it to answer a new scientific question.

A complete Eyewitness Memory response should make the task visible before the detail: identify what must be decided, define the relevant terms, connect the evidence to retention and retrieval, and use system variables to test the result.

The final sentence should answer the question actually asked rather than merely repeat the topic.

The controlling limit is specific: Vividness and confidence can diverge from accuracy.

Keep that limit beside the worked example, because it separates a careful PSYC3301 answer from one that sounds confident but claims more than the task or evidence supports.

For revision, retrieve encoding, retention and retrieval and system variables without notes, explain their relationship aloud, then complete a changed version of the application: trace how event and procedure conditions can change the reliability of a witness account.

Record the first point at which your reasoning fails and repair that move before attempting another case.

What this chapter covers

• 01

  encoding

• 02

  retention and retrieval

• 03

  system variables

• 04

  Applying encoding

• 05

  Limits of retention and retrieval and system variables

Worked example: Eyewitness Memory

Key terms

Estimator variables versus system variables

Estimator variables are event or witness conditions that can only be estimated after an event, whereas system variables are identification procedures that police, psychologists or legal professionals can control. In this chapter, use the concept when you trace how event and procedure conditions can change the reliability of a witness account.

Post-event information, the misinformation effect and source monitoring

Post-event information is material encountered after an event; the misinformation effect is its distortion of later memory, and source monitoring is the process of attributing a remembered detail to perception, suggestion or another source. In this chapter, use the concept when you trace how event and procedure conditions can change the reliability of a witness account.

Criteria-Based Content Analysis (CBCA) and Statement Validity Assessment

CBCA rates content features expected to differ between experience-based and fabricated accounts, while Statement Validity Assessment embeds CBCA within a broader evaluation of the interview, case file and alternative explanations. In this chapter, use the concept when you trace how event and procedure conditions can change the reliability of a witness account.

Eyewitness Memory FAQ

Exam move

Reconstruct the relationship among encoding, retention and retrieval and system variables; complete the chapter application without notes; then test the result against this limit: Vividness and confidence can diverge from accuracy.

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