Eyewitness Testimony in Courts

Eyewitness Testimony
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Eyewitness Testimony
Eyewitness testimony is a formal terminology describing an account of events witnessed by people. The witnesses must describe events such as robbery and road accidents before and after to help the investigators identify the perpetrators and collect the details at the crime scene. The term forms the basis of research, especially in cognitive and human psychology (Loftus, 2019). Several psychologists and judges utilize the technique of assessing personal memories to conduct research and pass judgments, respectively. The analysis is typically used in courtrooms to identify the perpetrators involved in a significant event. Despite gaining popularity in courtrooms, the testimonies face numerous debates on authenticity and the possibility of obtaining fabricated information. Here is an analysis of two articles discussing the concept of eyewitness testimonies, with an explanation of the technique is reliable or not.
The first article, ‘Can fabricate evidence induce false eyewitness testimony?’ examines whether fabricated findings can render false eyewitness testimonies. The author explains through an experiment on how individuals respond to fabricated pieces of evidence when giving eyewitness testimonies (Wade, Green & Nash, 2010). The research is conducted by subjecting the participants to ‘false pieces of evidence and then examining if the proofs affect their beliefs and memories. The study’s findings depict that the human brain can influence believing and testifying on the wrong scenarios. The author also thinks that fabricating information, images, and video footage can be extraordinarily compelling and challenging to detect. Researchers, psychologists, and the FBI should understand that some eyewitness testimonies may be fabricated and should not rely on videos and images as the main base for their investigations but rather search for alternative sources.
The second article, ‘Judging the reality of others’ memory,’ expounds on a unique ability known as Interpersonal Reality Monitoring (IRM). The technique evaluates whether an individual’s memory reflects the real scenario or imaginary occurrences (Clark-Foos, Brewer & Marsh, 2015). The article also highlights the work examined under IRM and whether the results are affected through training and feedback. The research examines whether the testimonies are reliable or unreliable when monitored with unique devices. The reality monitoring devices determine the origin of a particular memory. The researchers can then use the results to evaluate whether individuals’ reconnection or events is accurate or inaccurate (...