Question

While waiting in the checkout line at the grocery store, you see the cashier next to you get robbed. The police interview you. Describe how the following would hinder your ability to give an accurate description of the robber:

Answer 1

Answer:

Misinformation effect: If the police question you in a misleading manner (e.g. asking you to describe the gun the robber used when in fact there was no gun), you may fall prey to the misinformation effect, in which your account of the event is skewed by these details.

Source amnesia: If, before the police interview you, you hear other witnesses loudly discussing false details of the event (e.g. the robber was holding a gun when in fact they were holding a knife), you may be inclined to believe that these details come from your own memory of the event instead of the other witnesses’ accounts.

Proactive interference: If, prior to this robbery, you had already experienced a robbery, your traumatic memory of the first robbery may interfere with your ability to accurately remember the more recent robbery.

Explanation: