¶ … cross-examination on the accuracy of adult eyewitness testimony" by Tim Valentine and Katie Maras "The effects of mood on the accuracy of eyewitness memory: affective influences on susceptibility to misinformation" by Joseph P. Forgas, Simon M. Laham and Patrick T. Vargas

The current assignment looks at two separate articles, written by different authors and six years apart, each dealing with the quality and reliability of eyewitness testimonies. The first article assesses this topic from the standpoint of cross-examination, whereas the second, based on the mood of the witness. The table below summarizes the viewpoints of the two articles.

Forgas, Laham and Vargas (2005)

Valentine and Maras (2011)

Purpose of study

Investigate the impact of mood changes on the accuracy of eye witness memories

Investigate the impact of cross-examination upon the quality of eyewitness testimonies

Hypotheses

Eyewitnesses who are in a positive mood tend to offer inaccurate testimonies, whereas eyewitnesses in a negative mood tend to offer more accurate testimonies

Eyewitnesses tend top change their testimonies of witnessed events when they are cross-examined

Participants

96 students, out of which 54 were female and 42 were male

22 students, out of which 18 were female and 4 were male

Materials

Two A4 size models, one of a wedding...

Second and third experiments assessed the meta-cognitive awareness and the confidence of participants in their eyewitnesses reports.
After watching the video, the participants were asked a series of questions and they were asked to complete a questionnaire. After another four weeks, they were asked the questions again to assess any changes in testimonies.

Results

Eyewitnesses in a more positive mood tented to give misleading information, by including information they received after the event.

The participants changed their testimonies under cross-examination. They also gave lesser quality testimonies when there were more witnesses, then when only one individual had witnessed the event.

Limitations

The accuracy of the testimonies could have been influenced by other elements, such as identity, status or influence of the misleader, none of which were considered. Also, the mood of the witness was not assessed externally, but taken as given by the witness, which might also be inaccurate.

The findings were generated after participants viewed a video, but their testimonies might…