The reason this topic was chosen is because it provides a good educational base on eye witness testimony. Specifically, it informs people about some techniques or complications that can decrease accuracy, but also teach some helpful techniques to improve it. By singling out research that provides evidence on the effectiveness of these techniques, the general public can be confident in their use of them. It also looks at eye witnesses across ages and therefore can directed and applied to more than one age group. For the age range of children, special care is needed when using them as witnesses and as such people should be more informed about the proper practices to prevent decrease in accuracy or the possible effects of suggestibility since they are more susceptible to these. Not only does this knowledge translation teach people about being better witnesses and the importance of that, but it also can help them be aware of poor witnesses if they are ever put in a situation where they must be a jury member. It should also be stressed that this project challenges the bias that a confident witness is an accurate witness, which is not necessarily the case and that tons of other factors play a role in being a good witness. Overall the area of witnesses is extremely important as it involves the legal system and can be the deciding factor on if someone gets convicted of a crime or not. Because of this it only raises the need for information for the public so that people can be better prepared and informed.KT Final - Pepin
Tag: Memory
A brochure on the effects of cannabis on the adolescent brain, with tips on how to discuss cannabis use with teens
CairnsPsy 317-ArtifactI chose to create a knowledge translation artifact about the effects of older age on eyewitness memory. The intended audience is those involved in criminal investigations like police officers, lineup administrators, and lawyers. It is an important topic to educate this population on as eyewitness memory plays a significant role in the outcome of criminal investigations and is responsible for most wrongful convictions. Eyewitness evidence is very compelling at trial and crucial in criminal cases. The effects of older age on eyewitness memory are important as older adults are considered to be one of the less reliable groups of eyewitnesses. The other less reliable group is children, but they have been widely studied, so I thought it would be beneficial to provide more information on a less researched area. I intend to provide those directly involved in criminal investigations with evidence-based research on the reliability of older eyewitnesses who are helping determine the culprits in various cases. The goal of this artifact is to educate a population that has such an important role in the delivery of justice and protecting society. If this population is better educated about the effects of older age on eyewitness memory and more aware of the practices that mitigate these effects, older adults’ reliability as eyewitnesses can increase. With the increased reliability of older adults’ eyewitness memory, wrongful convictions will decrease, contributing to a more just society for all.
Aging and Eyewitness Memory