Eyewitness Memory

1. Face recognition (2 questions 4-5 sentences each)

2. Post-seminar writing assignment (1st question must be at least 10 sentences; 2nd must be at least 5)

3.TOP 5 Post-seminar assignment (5 items and each must be at least 5 full sentences)

Face recognition

Question 1:

Imagine that eyewitnesses to a crime are asked questions about the perpetrator’s face they saw. The investigators don’t have a suspect, so they need to figure out what the perpetrator looks like. Traditionally, the eyewitness account for how the face looked like is obtained with the following methods:

· Verbally describing the face to a forensic artist who sketches it

· Constructing a facial composite by selecting individual facial features (feature-based composite system)

· The sketch or composite is then used for recognition (for other witnesses/the public)

Knowing how faces are processed, analyze these methods. Discuss why you think they are good methods, or why you think they might distort facial recognition memory.

Answer: (4-5 sentences)

…………………………………………………

Question 2:

Knowing how faces are processed, what would be an ideal way to test facial memory? What kinds of questions about the face should be asked to maximize the chances of an accurate facial recognition memory, and why?

For help with this assignment, consider the following questions: when we recognize faces, what kind of information is important to us to know about the face? What do we pay attention to on a face?

Answer: (4-5 sentences)

…………………………………………………..

Post-seminar writing assignment

1. Posting your response (at least 10 sentences) to Factors impacting eyewitness memory

Length requirement: Your own post must be a minimum of 10 sentences written in your own words. Please do not copy and paste! Note that if you have some direct quotes, those do not count towards the 10 sentences.

Factors impacting eyewitness memory

In this seminar, we discussed multiple factors that can impact eyewitness memory. Pick one or two such factors and investigate in more detail how they impact eyewitness memory. The factor(s) can be something we discussed in the seminar or something that was not discussed but is known to affect eyewitness memory.

Find and refer to at least one reliable outside source and provide the source. Discuss your findings here in at least 10 sentences and cite your source(s) in APA format.

Examples you could investigate:

· How do characteristics such as age, gender, and ethnic group of the witness vs. the perpetrator affect eyewitness testimony? What about attractiveness, stress, the weapon effect, using show-ups, etc.?

· How do law enforcement procedures, such as interview styles, how the line-up is set up and using facial composites affect eyewitness testimony?

2. Memory distortions of eyewitnesses can lead to severe legal consequences. Explore the Innocence Project case file (link https://innocenceproject.org/all-cases/1/) and select a case that you find interesting. If possible, find a case in which eyewitness memory played some part. Briefly describe the basic facts of the case and explain the factors that led to the false conviction. If applicable, specifically address the role of eyewitness memory in the case.

Your post must be at least 5 sentences to receive credit. You don’t have to cite formally for this post (unless you refer to an additional outside source besides the Innocence Project website) but identify the name of the convicted person so that others can read the case if they wish.

Follow these instructions in your posts:

Provide your source(s); feel free to use any citation style when you cite the source. The instructions for APA (American Psychological Association). You will refer to the source(s) but note that most or all of your posts must be written in your own words (paraphrased). To get the full points, you need to have at least 10 sentences in your own words. If you use a direct quote from a source, use quotation marks and an in-text citation. Do not use any direct quotes.

TOP 5 Post-seminar assignment

(be aware this paper will be checked by Turnitin for plagiarism)

Identify the 5 most important things you learned in this seminar in your opinion. You get to define “important” here: this could mean important to you personally, important to the legal system, to researchers, etc. An “important thing” could for example be a concept, a theory, or a research finding.

Number your items starting from 1 and ending with 5. Try to (at least somewhat) rank order them so the most important is number 1, the second most important is number 2, and so on. If you find it hard to exactly rank order them, try to at least make sure that there’s some order (for example, item 1 seems more important than item 5).

IMPORTANT:

· This assignment needs to be written entirely in your own words (paraphrased). Do not copy and paste the text from any sources

· Use academic terminology and show your learning. For each of the items, define and explain the relevant concepts, give specific examples, and explain why it is important in your opinion. Use full sentences. Each item must be at least 5 full sentences (or longer; there’s no upper limit, but these don’t have to be longer than that).

For example, this would NOT be enough:

1. The Guilty knowledge test and its challenges

2. The interesting eyewitness case in the video we watched

You’d need to be specific, explain what the findings were, what you found significant about them, and use terminology learned in the seminar or from other educated sources. The point of this assignment is for you to review the material and think about it in depth.

This assignment is not graded for “accuracy” (I’m not going to evaluate how important the items in my opinion are), but the items must include academic concepts/terminology and be related to the seminar content.

You don’t need outside sources for this assignment, but if you do use sources that come from outside of the lecture and other seminar material, cite them in some format so that I can locate them (provide links for websites).

This assignment uses a plagiarism check program Simcheck/Turnitin to make sure that the responses are paraphrased (written in your own words).

There may be coincidental similarities and that’s okay, but make sure that the sentence structure is formed by you. Do not use copy and paste at all.

Resources:

· Power Point (attached)

VIDEOS:

· https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7EpYlKaBM8

· https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZPOHIndSVQ

· https://vimeo.com/390526300/2f801996b1

· https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUOIW7g7mOw

· https://vimeo.com/404667935/5232b54511

· https://vimeo.com/404671029/4cb277b0e7

· https://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_loftus_how_reliable_is_your_memory?utm_campaign=social&utm_content=talk&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_term=social-science

· Creating False Memories https://iad.cdn.nv.instructuremedia.com/originals/o-b34987e031ec0132360012b8bac854c5/transcodings/t-c16cac1031ec0132360012b8bac854c5.mp4?&Expires=1613894725&Signature=MAOZ6t0j4EoJoUbZWcONA36VZZj5gAFb~KmuEMgs9z1Pzxl89adzyWOewf2u4ppSikJk9mzoDnf0xx1UiGGV~iXKWF0vsXklkCU39Q0PjgeQkuwZIiR8lpxdtdsGMdyUIEzayFRPUS~N-h7~jQj2rlbYOBEpp9YWIfre0LZbMPnMmUPInn9W3utqrqK7rrPVf5lxkkbtKOBlr6g24gN9OvmVX9lob7N-pcPIYCPEV6XsE5a4WmM3flFcLwJSRWm8qvdLkptNyWZldY2LrcOE7U673xBWNynhfgGVPxvArA9iFkTC7QvDV8ad6YWtJy4Ds68TKQQSolrHF48nQ-~ZRQ__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLP4NHW7VFATZNDQ

· How Your Memory Can Be Tricked https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2oh-Vrfzjc

· Feats of memory anyone can do https://www.ted.com/talks/joshua_foer_feats_of_memory_anyone_can_do/up-next?language=en

· Individual differences in face recognition and developmental prosopagnosia http://nancysbraintalks.mit.edu/video/individual-differences-face-recognition-and-developmental-prosopagnosia

ARTICLES:

https://greenwichuniversity.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1zikSlrqNLDeYeh?Q_Language=ES&Source=Website

https://www.superrecognisers.com/

https://www.thecut.com/2016/06/are-you-a-super-recognizer.html

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/eyewitness-memory-is-a-lot-more-reliable-than-you-think/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301051113001154

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/04/the-underlying-bias-of-facial-recognition-systems/476991/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/23272475_Improving_the_Quality_of_Facial_Composites_Using_a_Holistic_Cognitive_Interview

https://www.innocenceproject.org/causes/eyewitness-misidentification/