Effect Of Misinformation On Eyewitness Memory And Testimony

Early Methods Section
Beth Boardley
Argosy University

1. What is your research question?
Does the influence of direct or indirect exposure to misinformation have an effect on eyewitness memory and testimony?
2. What is your hypothesis or hypotheses? What is the null hypothesis?
Hypothesis: If one is exposed to misinformation then it can lead to distortions in human memory for genuinely experienced events, as well as details of people, things, and places and eyewitness’s can be misled leading them to depict false information.
Null Hypothesis: There is no affect to human memory, genuinely experienced events, nor details of people, things, and places, nor can eyewitness’s be misled leading them to depict false information when one is
The environment would be a variable as well as the person presenting the information. The information presented itself would be considered a variable as some will receive misinformation and some will not. The method in which the information is presented is also a variable as some may receive misinformation from a discussion (person) some may read it in a paragraph form. The event witnessed is also a variable. Another variable will be the survey the participants have to take.
6. Provide operational definitions for each variable.
Gender: Relating to a person’s sex.
Age: The determination of the number of years passed since one’s birth configured by subtracting the birth year from the current year. If the month and day have yet to be reached in the current year, subtract 1.
Race: A social concept in which we use to classify humans by anatomical, cultural, ethnic, genetic, geographical, historical, linguistic, religious, and/or social affiliation.
Ethnicity: The classification of person’s as European American, African American,
Asian American/Pacific Islander, Latino, Native American, or Other.
Information: Facts or details about a subject; knowledge that one obtains from something or someone.
Misinformation: Information that is inaccurate and intentionally false that is spread deliberately.
Discussion: The act of talking between a person(s) about a topic(s) to reach a decision or to exchange
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