Remembering Social Events and Activities: Part 3: Eyewitness Testimony (From Criminal Behavior and the Justice System: Psychological Perspectives, P 228-241, 1989, Hermann Wegener, et al, eds. -- See NCJ-116624)

• NCJ Number: 116638
• Author(s): W Wippich
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 14 pages
• Sale Source: Springer-Verlag
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Concepts from social cognition research and evidence from experimental studies are used to explain the factors that affect memories of social events.

Abstract

What people remember about social episodes is determined not only by the given information but also by the attitudes, intentions, and prior knowledge of the individual. These factors are affected by the internal 'scripts' that the individual develops over the course of routine life activities and events that take the form and nearly the same sequence. Thus, witnesses' memories of social events and actions are based solely on scripts in semantic memory and not on facts or happenings. Nevertheless, experimental studies have found that atypical or distinct events and actions are more likely to be remembered accurately than are stereotypically expected events and actions. However, research on reality monitoring shows that memory may be composed of various subsystems, not all of which function 'schematically.' Thus, for example, people consider sensory attributes and other factors to determine whether an item of information originated from external sources or from internal processes like thought or imagination. However, further research is needed on many aspects of memory and its application to eyewitness issues. Tables and 52 references.