| Assignment Number 20 Discussion/Writing Assignment Chapter 10. Memory (352-372) |
Student
Name _____________________ Date due: 10-27-04 Introduction to Psychology 101 Hal S. Bertilson, Ph.D. |
| If this paper is late and you believe it may qualify as an excused absence please explain | __________________________________ |
| Late papers. Unexcused late papers may be turned in for one-half credit for the written portion of the assignment. |
| Spacing. Papers must be typed, double spaced. |
| 8-1/2 X 11 paper. In order to make handling papers easy and to ensure that none are misplaced, all papers are expected to be 8-1/2 X 11 inches, stapled, and with no torn, spiral notebook edges. |
| Can You Trust An Eyewitness? | |
| This exercise asks you to consider the problems of eyewitness testimony. | |
| 1. | Eyewitnesses to crimes are not always reliable; they think they remember the facts about an event, yet they make errors. Describe three psychological factors that might account for such errors. |
| 2. | If you were a police officer, lawyer, or prosecutor who had the job of interrogating witnesses, and you wanted to increase eyewitness accuracy, what are two things you might do? |
| 3. | In general, how would a 10-year-old child be a more reliable eyewitness regarding the facts of an event than a 40-year-old adult, and vice versa? Why? |
| 4. | We are all eyewitnesses to our lives, and we are not completely accurate in what we remember. Which of your autobiographical memories do you think might be somewhat distorted or inaccurate? Why? |