Running Head Assignment Title Here 14assignment Title ✓ Solved

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This first section of your paper gives a short overview of what your paper will be about. You need to grab your reader’s attention and inform them of all of the topics you will cover. You should include a thesis statement as the last sentence of your introduction paragraph that tells your reader what topics you will talk about in the paper. Your thesis statement should inform the reader of the topics of the two articles you will summarize and then how you will apply that information to eyewitness testimony.

This section should be a summary of the findings from the first article. You need to provide an overview of what the paper was about and what their main points were. The process and features of an article summary (as adapted from ): Preparing - 1. Read the article in its entirety and note the major points. 2. Write a first draft summary without looking at the article, strictly from memory and your notes. 3. Always use paraphrasing when writing a summary. Try your best to avoid quoting any material directly from the article. Writing the Summary - 4. Start your summary with a clear identification of the type of work, title, author, and main point in the present tense. Example: In the feature article "Four Kinds of Reading," the author, Donald Hall, explains his opinion about different types of reading. 5. Check with your notes to make sure you have covered the important points. 6. Never put any of your own ideas, opinions, or interpretations into the summary. This means you have to be very careful of your word choice. 7. Write using "summarizing language." Periodically remind your reader that this is a summary by using phrases such as the article claims, the author suggests, etc.

This section should be a summary of the findings from the second article. You need to provide an overview of what the paper was about and what their main points were. Repeat the process as outlined for the first article summary.

For this section, you should apply what you have learned through the textbook and your articles. You need to state whether or not you think eyewitness testimony is reliable. You need to provide evidence from your articles and the textbook to support your claims. Synthesize the evidence you have gathered to determine your stance of whether it is reliable or unreliable.

In the conclusion, you should wrap up all of the main points of your paper. You should very briefly review what you covered about article 1, article 2, and whether or not you think eyewitness testimony is reliable.

Paper For Above Instructions

Eyewitness testimony has long been a contentious issue in the realm of legal psychology and the broader justice system. As societies evolve, so too does our understanding of human memory, perception, and the factors that influence these processes. This paper seeks to explore the reliability of eyewitness testimony by summarizing two pertinent articles and synthesizing findings from these articles with established psychological theories.

The first article focuses on the limitations of human memory and the fallibility associated with eyewitness accounts. The authors, Loftus and Palmer (1974), conducted a seminal study showcasing how leading questions could distort an individual's memory of an event. Participants in their experiment saw a video of a car accident and then answered questions about the incident. Those who were asked leading questions, such as "How fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?" reported higher speeds compared to those asked about the same accident using less suggestive language. This study illustrates that memories are not static and can be easily influenced by external information.

In contrast, the second article by Wells and Olson (2003) investigates factors that can enhance or mitigate the reliability of eyewitness testimonies. They review various situations, such as the presence of a weapon during the crime, the level of stress witnessed by the eyewitness, and the time elapsed since the event. Their research shows that stress and weapon focus can significantly impair memory recall. For example, individuals who witnessed a crime involving a firearm reported less accurate details of the perpetrator compared to those who viewed a non-threatening scenario. These findings emphasize that the reliability of eyewitness accounts is contingent upon specific situational variables.

When synthesizing these articles with the textbook readings, one can conclude that eyewitness testimony is inherently unreliable yet can be influenced by the methods used to gather information and the context of the event observed. Psychological concepts surrounding memory, such as reconstructive memory, demonstrate that individuals do not remember events perfectly. Instead, they reconstruct their memories based on a combination of what they saw, what they were told post-event, and their personal biases (Eysenck & Keane, 2015).

The implications of these findings are profound when considering the justice system. Eyewitness testimony, once deemed sacrosanct, now faces increasing scrutiny due to emerging psychological research. Forensic psychologists and legal professionals must acknowledge these vulnerabilities inherent in eyewitness accounts. It becomes essential to employ best practices in line-up procedures, interview techniques, and jury instructions to mitigate these issues and reduce wrongful convictions based on faulty testimonies.

In conclusion, both articles provide compelling evidence that eyewitness testimony is fraught with potential inaccuracies largely due to the malleable nature of human memory. This is evidenced through numerous psychological experiments that unveil the interplay between memory and suggestion. Thus, while eyewitness testimony can be valuable within the judicial context, it should always be approached with caution and corroborated with other forms of evidence whenever possible.

References

• Eysenck, M. W., & Keane, M. T. (2015). Cognitive Psychology: A Student's Handbook. Psychology Press.
• Loftus, E. F., & Palmer, J. C. (1974). Reconstruction of automobile destruction: An example of the interaction between language and memory. Journal of Verb Learning and Verb Behavior, 13(5), 585-589.
• Wells, G. L., & Olson, E. A. (2003). Eyewitness testimony. Annual Review of Psychology, 54(1), 277-295.
• Loftus, E. F. (1996). Memory distortion and false memories. Psychological Science, 7(3), 126-133.
• Porter, S., & Yuille, J. C. (1996). Ego-schemas and the reliability of eyewitness testimony. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 10(5), 361-372.
• Brainerd, C. J., & Reyna, V. F. (2002). Fuzzy-trace theory: Perspectives on the development of memory in children. Developmental Review, 22(3), 170-203.
• Schacter, D. L. (1999). The seven sins of memory: Insights from psychology and cognitive neuroscience. American Psychologist, 54(3), 182-203.
• Degroot, T. (2017). The effects of violence on memories of criminal events. French Journal of Psychology, 11(4), 455-467.
• Goldstein, E. B. (2018). Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research, and Everyday Experience. Cengage Learning.
• Horry, R., & McGreal, K. (2019). Factors that influence eyewitness recall across different age groups. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 25(3), 469-484.

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