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- Title
Eyewitness Testimony in Civil Litigation: Retention, Suggestion, and Misinformation in Product Identification.
- Authors
Terrell, J. Trent; Weaver III, Charles A.
- Abstract
Although expert testimony regarding eyewitness memory is now common in criminal trials, eyewitness testimony is also critical in civil litigation. This is particularly true in product liability cases involving alleged exposure to toxic substances like asbestos. Witnesses in these cases must recall specific brands of products that may have been used decades earlier. The present experiments investigated eyewitness memory for brand names of various kitchen products seen in a cooking show. Although memory was reasonably accurate at brief delays, within a week recognition rates for the brand names dropped to scarcely above chance; nearly half of these delayed selections were of the most familiar (but unseen) brands. Subtle and inaccurate post-event suggestions produced robust false alarm rates — nearly 70% of responses when the most popular brands were suggested. Additionally, confidence in the accuracy of responses and actual accuracy was inversely related following the introduction of misinformation.
- Subjects
UNITED States; WITNESSES; MEMORY; ACTIONS &; defenses (Law); UNITED States. Dept. of Justice; TOXIC substance exposure; RECOGNITION (Psychology); COMMON misconceptions; LEGAL evidence
- Publication
North American Journal of Psychology, 2008, Vol 10, Issue 2, p323
- ISSN
1527-7143
- Publication type
Article