¶ … Eyewitness Testimony and Memory Issues
When investigating and prosecuting crimes and other incidents, their can be a heavy level of reliance on eyewitness testimony to substantiate the facts that are suggested by other evidence and to fill in missing gaps in the story of the crime, accident, or other incident. This can be a problem, however, as two different eyewitness accounts of the same incident are likely to differ significantly in many ways, and even the same eyewitness can remember details differently at different intervals of time following the incident. This is due to the human function of memory: the differences between short- and long-term memory, the processes involved in creating and reinforcing memory, and various techniques that can be used to help bring out memories but are not always reliable. This paper will examine and explore many of the issues related to memory and eyewitness recall.
Short-term memory occurs when sensory information is stored temporarily for use in certain comparisons and decision-making processes, like holding information from the beginning of a sentence until you reach the end of a sentence so that the entire sentence makes sense (Georgia 2011). Short-term memory decays quickly, and within a few seconds things stored in short-term memory are either forgotten or moved into long-term memory (Georgia 2011). When new neural pathways are formed in order to store information in long-term memory, there is very little decay that actually occurs, meaning that everything that actually makes it to long-term memory is theoretically accessible for the rest of the brain's life (Georgia 2011). Things do not actually work quite as simply as theory suggests, however.
The first step of memory creation is called encoding, and...
41+). Loftus notes that science has found "post-event information" is integrated into what most people have actually experienced because, "when people experience some actual event -- say a crime or an accident -- they often later acquire new information about the event. This new information can contaminate the memory" (Loftus, 2002, March, p. 41+). In addition, many false memories are created, deliberately or by accident, in response to leading questioning
Recognition Within Criminal Justice Setting Within the criminal justice profession the act of memory retrieval is essential to the act of investigating cases of all variety -- from the petty theft committed by a purse-snatcher to the wanton violence inflicted by a murderer -- because invariably the state's case against those accused will involve the statements of sworn eyewitnesses. While the American system of jurisprudence has placed a great deal
Memory and Forgetting: A Comprehensive Analysis Memory loss is a huge problem in an aging population. No substantive cure for memory loss. Forgetfulness does not always accompany aging. Different types of memory loss: Forgetfulness Dementia Alzheimer's Confusion The memory impairment that comes with aging may be due to confusion as well as memory loss. Memory loss and forgetfulness may be preventable. There are a number of different approaches to reducing forgetfulness Background music Categorization Control Daily behavioral changes The goal of the paper began as a
Criminology: Memory and the LawMemory has ample implications in the field of law for detecting a true criminal and the defenders who are struggling to prove themselves innocent. The journey from the investigator seeking for the truth to the final verdict of the court is affected by various factors of the memory, even the participants in the process such as the eyewitnesses, the jurors� and the emotions of criminal investigators
Millions of dollars are spent on test-prep manuals, books, computer programs and worksheets (Gluckman, 2002). Static/captive learning can help teachers around the nation prepare their students for standardized testing. Significance of the Study to Leadership A principal is the leader of the campus. The challenge for the principal is to know his or her district's mandated curriculum and make sure teachers are able to deliver it (Shipman & Murphy, 2001). As
Essay Topic Examples 1.The Psychological Profile of Arsonists: Unpacking the Motivations Behind Fire-Setting: This essay would explore the different psychological factors that can lead an individual to commit arson. It would examine various motivations such as desire for attention, revenge, financial gain, or satisfaction of pyromaniac impulses, and how they correlate with the profiles of convicted arsonists. 2.Arson as a Weapon of Environmental Terrorism: The focus of this essay would be on
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