Analysis Of The Video Eyewitness Testimony

Introduction By analyzing the video Eyewitness Testimony I have been able to determine the significant impact the way an interviewer asks a question has on an interviewee’s ability to recall memory. The way a question is worded may have negative effects on the way that a subject chooses to answer. By using key words and phrases when asking a question an interviewer will be able to get the best possible answer from the subject. This essay will look at the different ways a question can affect the subjects answer.
Assessment
During an interview the way a subject recalls the information after being asked a question may differ. In the video Eyewitness Testimony, the subjects in the video were given a video of a woman being mugged. In the video the subjects were all able to determine that there was a woman in a parking lot who had her bag stolen by a man. The information that was different was the descriptions of the woman and the male suspect. They were all asked various questions after examining the video. The way that the subjects each perceived the video was different. This is because of the way that each suspect perceived the
The memory is fragile and can be tricked easily. Leading questions, as described by Elizabeth Loftus, are questions that cause the subject to remember something that didn’t happen. An example of this can be seen in the video Eyewitness Testimony where the interviewer asked the question, “What did the weapon look like?” Amazingly, subjects described the weapon as being a large knife. In the situation that they were shown there was never actually a knife. The interviewer was able to get the subjects to remember an object without ever seeing it. This shows that when conducting an interview with an eye witness, ensure that you are not asking leading questions that may persuade them into thinking that there was evidence that was not