Detective Rawlings asked Harry, a witness to a mugging, to mentally reconstruct the details of the incident before showing him the suspects in the line-up. In having Harry place himself at the scene of the crime, what principle was Rawlings using to facilitate accurate identification?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Rawlings was using the principle of context-dependent memory, which suggests that recall is easier when the individual is in the same environment or context as when the memory was formed. By having Harry mentally reconstruct the details of the incident, he was placing himself back in the context of the crime, which would enhance his ability to accurately identify the suspects in the line-up. The other answer choices either don't relate to the situation presented, or are not applicable to memory recall in this scenario.

Detective Rawlings Asked Harry, a Witness to a Mugging, to Mentally