PSYC 355 final exam
PSYC 355 final exam study questions
and answers graded 2024
the most common cause of wrongful convictions - eyewitness error
the 3 stages of memory - encoding, storage, retrieval
how does distance affect encoding? - the farther witnesses are from the target, the less
accurate they are are identifying the target
how does emotional state (stress in particular) affect encoding? - high stress = less
accuracy in identifying people
weapon-focus effect - tendency for the presence of a weapon to draw attention to itself,
impairing a witness's ability to identify the culprit
cross-race identification bias (2) - tendency for people to be more accurate at
recognizing members of their own racial group than of other groups; also occurs with
age groups
misinformation effect - tendency for false *post-event misinformation* to become
integrated into people's memory of an event
factors that affect children's eyewitness testimonies (3) - repetition of a question (implies
that the previous answer was not good enough), leading questions, misinformation
how do facial composites or artist's sketches affect retrieval? - they seldom resemble
the culprit, and they lower identification accuracy
how does lineup *construction* affect identification accuracy? - fillers/foils should match
general description of the culprit; no single suspect should be distinctive (e.g., smaller
picture); their emotional expressions should be similar
how does lineup *instruction* affect identification accuracy? - being told the culprit is in
the lineup can lead to picking an innocent person b/c the witness feels compelled to pick
someone
how does lineup *format* affect identification accuracy? - sequential lineups lead to
better accuracy than simultaneous spreads; the latter leads to relative judgments
, PSYC 355 final exam
how does *familiarity* affect identification accuracy in a lineup? - witnesses will often
identify from a lineup someone they had seen in another context, including innocent
bystanders who also happened to be at the crime scene
how do *double blind* procedures affect identification accuracy in a lineup? - witnesses
make more suspect identifications when the administrator is informed rather than blind
as to who the suspect is
factors that affect jurors' evaluation of witness testimonies (2) - jurors are not
knowledgeable about things like cross-race bias and weapon focus; they largely base
their judgment of a witness on how confident they seem
factors that affect a witness's confidence (3) - reports of co-witnesses; repeated
questioning (increases confidence); the dud effect (presence of fillers that don't
resemble the criminal can increase confidence)
post-identification feedback effect - Positive feedback can alter an eyewitness's account
of the experience and inflate their level of confidence
how does the post-identification feedback effect influence juries? - after positive
feedback, juries find it much harder to tell the difference between accurate and mistaken
witnesses
factor that influences alibis for a new acquaintance - physical evidence (e.g., seeing
stolen cash)
(similarity or friendliness had no significant effect)
are professionals good at reading verbal and nonverbal cues to detect lies? - they are
only slightly better (if at all) than the average person (~54% accuracy)
do polygraph tests work? (2) - somewhat, but truthful people often fail the test; people
can fool the test by inflating arousal while answering control questions, matching their
arousal for crime-relevant questions
2 reasons/types of false confessions - compliance and internalization (falsely believing
themselves to be guilty)
explain why *compliance* confessions occur - humans tend to be shortsighted when it
comes to rewards/punishments, and this is exacerbated with stress; interrogation is
often stressful, so suspects sometimes confess to escape interrogation
risk factors for *internalization* confessions (2) - suspect lacks clear memory of the
event in question; false evidence is presented
how do offers of leniency affect confessions? - increases the rates of both true and false
confessions
PSYC 355 final exam study questions
and answers graded 2024
the most common cause of wrongful convictions - eyewitness error
the 3 stages of memory - encoding, storage, retrieval
how does distance affect encoding? - the farther witnesses are from the target, the less
accurate they are are identifying the target
how does emotional state (stress in particular) affect encoding? - high stress = less
accuracy in identifying people
weapon-focus effect - tendency for the presence of a weapon to draw attention to itself,
impairing a witness's ability to identify the culprit
cross-race identification bias (2) - tendency for people to be more accurate at
recognizing members of their own racial group than of other groups; also occurs with
age groups
misinformation effect - tendency for false *post-event misinformation* to become
integrated into people's memory of an event
factors that affect children's eyewitness testimonies (3) - repetition of a question (implies
that the previous answer was not good enough), leading questions, misinformation
how do facial composites or artist's sketches affect retrieval? - they seldom resemble
the culprit, and they lower identification accuracy
how does lineup *construction* affect identification accuracy? - fillers/foils should match
general description of the culprit; no single suspect should be distinctive (e.g., smaller
picture); their emotional expressions should be similar
how does lineup *instruction* affect identification accuracy? - being told the culprit is in
the lineup can lead to picking an innocent person b/c the witness feels compelled to pick
someone
how does lineup *format* affect identification accuracy? - sequential lineups lead to
better accuracy than simultaneous spreads; the latter leads to relative judgments
, PSYC 355 final exam
how does *familiarity* affect identification accuracy in a lineup? - witnesses will often
identify from a lineup someone they had seen in another context, including innocent
bystanders who also happened to be at the crime scene
how do *double blind* procedures affect identification accuracy in a lineup? - witnesses
make more suspect identifications when the administrator is informed rather than blind
as to who the suspect is
factors that affect jurors' evaluation of witness testimonies (2) - jurors are not
knowledgeable about things like cross-race bias and weapon focus; they largely base
their judgment of a witness on how confident they seem
factors that affect a witness's confidence (3) - reports of co-witnesses; repeated
questioning (increases confidence); the dud effect (presence of fillers that don't
resemble the criminal can increase confidence)
post-identification feedback effect - Positive feedback can alter an eyewitness's account
of the experience and inflate their level of confidence
how does the post-identification feedback effect influence juries? - after positive
feedback, juries find it much harder to tell the difference between accurate and mistaken
witnesses
factor that influences alibis for a new acquaintance - physical evidence (e.g., seeing
stolen cash)
(similarity or friendliness had no significant effect)
are professionals good at reading verbal and nonverbal cues to detect lies? - they are
only slightly better (if at all) than the average person (~54% accuracy)
do polygraph tests work? (2) - somewhat, but truthful people often fail the test; people
can fool the test by inflating arousal while answering control questions, matching their
arousal for crime-relevant questions
2 reasons/types of false confessions - compliance and internalization (falsely believing
themselves to be guilty)
explain why *compliance* confessions occur - humans tend to be shortsighted when it
comes to rewards/punishments, and this is exacerbated with stress; interrogation is
often stressful, so suspects sometimes confess to escape interrogation
risk factors for *internalization* confessions (2) - suspect lacks clear memory of the
event in question; false evidence is presented
how do offers of leniency affect confessions? - increases the rates of both true and false
confessions
