The Effects of Memory Conformity as a Function of Co-Witness Familiarity

Mojtahedi, Dara, Ioannou, Maria and Hammond, Laura (2017) The Effects of Memory Conformity as a Function of Co-Witness Familiarity. In: Crime, Culture and Social Harm, 14th July 2017, York St. John University, UK. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

The present study examined the effects of a co-witness familiarity on statement similarity. The study aimed to determine whether eyewitnesses were at a higher risk of conforming to co-witnesses that they were familiar with, than to unfamiliar co-witnesses. The study utilised a novel experimental paradigm in which participants viewed footage of a crime before partaking in a post-event discussion with their group. The study used a between-subjects design, where participants either had a pre-existing relationship with their co-witnesses, had no previous relations to their co-witnesses, or were not permitted to discuss the event with their co-witnesses (control). Four hundred twenty participants took part in the study. They were placed into groups of five and viewed a CCTV footage of a crime. Participants then took part in a post-event discussion with group members before giving individual statements. A one-way between groups analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted. Results indicated that a post-event discussion significantly increased the level of statement similarity with eyewitness groups, but only when the co-witnesses shared a pre-existing relationship. The results also indicated that uncertain eyewitnesses were most susceptible to co-witness influence. The results indicate that eyewitnesses are more likely to accept contradicting information from peers than from strangers. Explanations for the findings, along with implication for police interventions, are discussed.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Poster)
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Schools:	School of Human and Health Sciences > International Research Centre for Investigative Psychology School of Human and Health Sciences
Related URLs:	Author Author Author Conference
Depositing User:	Dara Mojtahedi
Date Deposited:	21 Jul 2017 08:26
Last Modified:	21 Jul 2017 08:30
URI:	http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/32424

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