The Accuracy of Eyewitness Testimony and Repressed Memories Essay

The Accuracy of Eyewitness Testimony and Repressed Memories - Essay eventAlthough many people rely on eyewitness testimony, there are a huge number of factors which preserve influence the way that a victim or other witness recalls the perpetrator of a crime. For example, the stress of being a victim of, or viewing, a crime can mean that slightly people remember certain elements more vividly or psychologically adapt the memory to make it more bearable (Loftus, 1994). Additionally, there is evidence that cross-racial naming issues, meaning that many eyewitnesses have proven difficulty identifying a perpetrator from a race other than their own (Buckhout, 1974). Pressure from law enforcement agencies can also make a difference, as those who cannot correctly remember the individual in question may feel forced to make a rash apprehension that does not correlate with the real criminal (Loftus, 1996).Another common problem that comes from identifying a perpetrator comes from the fact that the witness usually assumes that the actual criminal is turn in in the line-up, and thus will feel forced to choose from one of those presented to him or her (Loftus, 1996). However, line-ups can be composed of a group of people that come about to fit the description given, or those who were in the area at the time and do not always contain the perpetrator (Loftus, 1996). Police and law enforcement can help to prevent this problem by giving line-up instructions that inform the witness of this fact and ensuring that the witness does not feel pressure to make an flying judgment, although this does not always work in practice (Bernstein, Penner, Clarke-Stewart & Roy, 2011).It is also a common belief that people can repress memories of traumatic events and then later(prenominal) retrieve these memories (using counseling or otherwise), which could then be used in a court of law. This idea is still really controversial amongst psychologists, with some believe that there