A police officer leads a witness back to the scene of the crime and asks her to recall as much as she can about the event. The officer is attempting to take advantage of __________.
A) context reinstatement
B) primacy and recency effects
C) flashbulb memories
D) depth of processing

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Context reinstatement is the act of taking a witness back to the location of a crime or event to help them remember details more accurately by recreating the context in which the event occurred. The police officer is attempting to use this technique to prompt the witness's memory. Primacy and recency effects refer to the tendency to remember information presented at the beginning or end of a list, not relevant in this scenario. Flashbulb memories are highly detailed, vivid memories of emotionally charged events, but the officer is not trying to elicit this type of memory from the witness. Depth of processing refers to the level of significance a person assigns to information, and how that influences their ability to recall it later. This is not relevant in this scenario.

A Police Officer Leads a Witness Back to the Scene