Deck 6: Remembering Crime

Question 1

Psychological research has found that the use of the showup is more likely to lead to inaccuracy than the use of a traditional lineup.

A) more likely to lead to inaccuracy than the use of a traditional lineup
B) More likely to lead to accuracy than the use of a traditional lineup
C) The research findings are inconsistent,but most psychologist-experts discourage the use of showups.
D) prejudicial

Answer 1

The research findings are inconsistent,but most psychologist-experts discourage the use of showups.

Question 2

Wells and Bradfield (1998)showed students a videotape from a store surveillance camera and then later showed the students photographs of some suspects.What did their study find?

A) Increased confidence was associated with increased accuracy.
B) Witnesses were more accurate when they were shown an increased number of photographs.
C) Feedback from an authority had an undesirable effect on future reports.
D) A time delay can actually improve memory.

Answer 2

Feedback from an authority had an undesirable effect on future reports.

Question 3

With regard to Wells's distinction between system variables and estimator variables,which of the following is NOT a system variable in witness identification?

A) witness interviews
B) police lineups
C) suspect's race
D) showups

Answer 3

suspect's race

Question 4

Which possible influences on witness error are psychologists in the LEAST amount of agreement (71 percent)in viewing as "reliable enough" to testify about?

A) wording of interview questions
B) stress
C) unconscious transference
D) time effects

Question 5

Which of the following is NOT an estimator variable in witness identification?

A) lighting at the crime scene
B) emotional state of the witness
C) surveillance video
D) the amount of violence in the crime

Question 6

According to a 1975 Rand Corporation study,what was the likelihood of solving a crime without a witness to provide a specific piece of information about the crime?

A) less than 10 percent
B) less than 20 percent
C) less than 40 percent
D) less than 60 percent

Question 7

A witness identifies Kathy as the perpetrator of a crime that Kathy did not commit.The witness saw Kathy's picture in a photo lineup of suspects,and has mistakenly replaced the face of the actual criminal with Kathy's face when remembering the crime.What is this an example of?

A) the Fisher effect
B) projective memory
C) unconscious transference
D) Holmes's law

Question 8

Which of the following statements accurately describes John Demjanjuk,an accused Nazi war criminal?

A) He was released when witness testimony exonerated him.
B) He was executed in Israel based on the testimony of concentration-camp survivors.
C) He was convicted but later released based on questionable police procedures.
D) He was a Jewish concentration-camp survivor who was mistakenly identified as a guard because witnesses remembered him being at the camp.

Question 9

Which of the following would NOT be suggested by Ronald Fisher (1995)as a way of improving the accuracy of information elicited from witnesses?

A) Slow down the rate of questioning.
B) Re-create the original context.
C) Make the interview witness centred,rather than interviewer centred.
D) Use a standardized checklist of questions for witnesses.

Question 10

What is the term for when a witness selects a stimulus person who most resembles-in the witness's memory-the perpetrator of the crime?

A) foil contamination
B) unconscious transference
C) relative judgment
D) state-dependent learning

Question 11

Which of the following is not one of the categories included in the taxonomy of eyewitness errors created by Sharps et al.(2009)?

A) errors in clothing or physical attributes of perpetrator
B) timing errors
C) weapon errors
D) errors in environmental detail

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT an advantage of a photo array over a traditional police lineup?

A) portability
B) the higher degree of realism
C) the control over the behaviour of lineup members
D) lessened anxiety of witnesses

Question 13

Which of the following is NOT an error that is almost universally committed by police officers when interviewing witnesses and victims?

A) asking too many short-answer questions
B) allowing the witness to speak too much and ramble
C) using an inappropriate sequence in asking questions
D) interrupting the witness

Question 14

Which of the following would NOT be recommended in conducting a witness interview?

A) Interview several witnesses together to corroborate details.
B) Carefully construct interview questions upon discovering the crime.
C) Use interviewers who have been trained in the art of interviewing.
D) Take detailed notes of both the questions asked and the answers given.

Question 15

Which possible influences on witness error do psychologists almost unanimously (97 percent)consider "reliable enough" to testify about?

A) wording of interview questions
B) stress
C) unconscious transference
D) time effects

Question 16

Which of the following is NOT a goal of the Step-Wise Interview?

A) to maximize the amount and quality of information obtained from witnesses
B) to minimize any contamination of the reported information
C) to ensure that all investigators follow the same protocol
D) to maintain the integrity of the investigative process

Question 17

In the case of Thomas Sophonow,what was NOT one of the major problems associated with the police evidence-gathering procedures?

A) the use of hypnosis to refresh Doerksen's memory
B) the use of foils who differed on an important physical attribute from Sophonow
C) leading a witness to identify a particular person in the lineup
D) allowing witnesses to discuss features of the perpetrator with each other

Question 18

According to your text,which type of variable relating to witness interviewing can forensic psychologists provide advice on in avoiding investigative errors?

A) system variable
B) estimator variable
C) static variable
D) dynamic variable

Question 19

What happens in a showup?

A) The suspect is brought to the witness's residence.
B) The lineup is formed at the crime scene.
C) Only the head of the suspect,not his or her body,is shown to the witness.
D) Only the suspect is in the lineup.

Question 20

Which of the following is NOT a common kind of error in eyewitness identification?

A) implying that the criminal is definitely one of the stimulus persons
B) creating no real demand to make a choice
C) asking the witness questions about the suspect but not about the foils
D) leaking the detective's hunch

Question 21

Jurors deviated from eyewitness experts' opinions on what percentage of issues?

A) 87
B) 79
C) 63
D) 55

Question 22

Brigham and Wolfskeil (1983)found that defence attorneys were more likely to believe in the accuracy of witnesses than were prosecuting attorneys.

Question 23

What does imagining particular events lead to?

A) less confidence that the events were genuine
B) less confidence that the events were fabricated
C) greater confidence that the events were genuine
D) greater confidence that the events were fabricated

Question 24

Which of the following is NOT a criterion often used by judges in determining the admissibility of expert witness testimony?

A) the relevance of the evidence
B) the likelihood it will lead to a "not guilty" verdict
C) the necessity of the evidence
D) the absence of any exclusionary rule

Question 25

Do witnesses and victims make mistakes in identification of perpetrators? How often?

Question 26

Has the Supreme Court taken a position on the use of lineups by the police? What is it?

Question 27

Which of the following is NOT recommended as a means of increasing the accuracy of police lineups?

A) Have the investigating officer conduct the lineup.
B) Ensure the foils in the lineup physically resemble the suspect
C) Explicitly tell the witness that the perpetrator might be absent from the lineup.
D) Use a double-blind procedure to guard against unintentional communication.

Question 28

What are some procedural errors that police make in questioning eyewitnesses?

Question 29

Jurors' beliefs about witness testimony are often misinformed,placing too much credence in accuracy,and resulting in a diminished ability to appreciate its fallibility.

Question 30

Describe the Thomas Sophonow case.

Question 31

What might be the result of delayed discovery?

A) increasing witness accuracy through hypnosis,even after significant time has passed
B) encouraging more false reports of child abuse
C) proving innocent many who have been committed of crimes
D) interfering with the collection of physical evidence

Question 32

Describe some of the system and estimator variables evidenced in the eyewitness testimony in the Thomas Sophonow murder case.

Question 33

Recall tests following the event seemed to prime the memory to be more susceptible to future misinformation for both younger and older adults.

Question 34

High state anxiety had what kind of effect on participants when identifying the individual they witnessed within a labyrinth?

A) no effect
B) complete loss of memory
C) greater accuracy
D) poorer accuracy

Question 35

What was the end result of Stovall v.Denno (1967)?

A) Stovall's conviction was overturned,based on inaccurate witness testimony.
B) Stovall's conviction was overturned,with the court declaring the witness identification procedure to be prejudicial.
C) Stovall's conviction was upheld,with the court maintaining the identification was not unnecessarily suggestive.
D) Stovall's conviction was upheld,despite a ruling that the procedure was a violation of due process.

Question 36

In one study,participants were questioned about a real and false stressful event in three suggestive interviews over two weeks.What percentage of participants came to fully recall the false event?

A) 7
B) 26
C) 52
D) 61

Question 37

Distinguish between system variables and estimator variables.Which can be controlled by the criminal justice system?

Question 38

Suggestive procedures by police that can increase witness confidence have not been found to increase witness accuracy.

Question 39

An interview procedure that is recommended to assist in the memory of witnesses is to repeat the question later in the interview if the witness could not answer it the first time.

Question 40

Exposure to a suspect's photograph has been found to produce fewer identifications of that person as perpetrator of the crime.

Question 41

Describe the John Demjanjuk case.

Question 42

Describe the debate around the accuracy of recollections of traumatic events.

Question 43

Describe the rules suggested by Wells and his colleagues for reducing errors in the use of lineups.

Question 44

What types of procedures or techniques can lead to inaccuracy in an eyewitness's testimony and identification?

Question 45

Distinguish between a lineup and a photo array.Give two advantages of each method.

Question 46

What are some common errors when police use lineups?

Question 47

What suggestions can a forensic psychologist make to the police about how to interview eyewitnesses and crime victims?

Question 48

What are the benefits of a cognitive interview?

Question 49

Discuss the problems in the use of a showup.

Question 50

What aspects of eyewitness identification are forensic psychologists willing to testify about (i.e. ,what do psychologists consider reliable enough to testify about)?

Question 51

Outline some of the research findings that document that the knowledge of expert witnesses about eyewitness memory is beyond the common sense of laypersons.

Question 52

What are leading questions?

Question 53

Are jurors knowledgeable about whether eyewitnesses are accurate?

Question 54

How do demand characteristics operate on witnesses while being questioned by the police?

Question 55

Apply the concept of social framework testimony to testimony on eyewitness accuracy.

Question 56

Describe Loftus' original postevent misinformation paradigm and outline some of the recent findings that continue to support this theory.