Ellie Brown & Sophie Craddock Aim To investigate how the use of a misleading question affects the validity

of an eyewitness testimony. Sample Observed For our investigation we used a random sample. We selected, at random, a group of 10 willing participants. The participants were not told the aim of the study before it was conducted because the results would have been affected. However they were all debriefed about the entire study after it was completed. Procedure Followed The participants all watched the video once through together. They were then split into two groups and watched the clip again. The first group were asked a set of questions, which included one misleading question about the speed of the two vehicles involved in the crash. The other group was simply asked to recall all the event of the crash that they could remember including as much detail as possible. When recalling the events some of the participants had to be prompted to talk about the speed of the cars but the question did not manipulate the answer at all. - Here are the different misleading question types (for the first group) - How fast were the two vehicles travelling (mph) when they smashed, narrowly missing the pedestrian? - How fast were the two vehicles travelling (mph) when they collided, narrowly missing the pedestrian? - How fast were the two vehicles travelling (mph) when they crashed, narrowly missing the pedestrian? - How fast were the two vehicles travelling (mph) when they hit, narrowly missing the pedestrian? - How fast were the two vehicles travelling (mph) when they bashed, narrowly missing the pedestrian? - How fast were the two vehicles travelling (mph) when they bumped, narrowly missing the pedestrian? - How fast were the two vehicles travelling (mph) when they touched, narrowly missing the pedestrian? - The second group were only asked this - Tell me everything about the incident. Please try to include as much detail as possible. - What can you tell me about the speed of the two vehicles? Findings for group 1 Participant 1 Participant 2 Participant 3 Participant 4 Participant 5 Participant 6 Participant 7 Participant 8 Participant 9 Participant 10 Findings for group 2 Participant 1 Participant 2 Participant 3 Participant 4 Participant 5 Participant 6 Participant 7 Participant 8 Participant 9 Participant 10

Smashed Collided Crashed Hit Bumped

80 70 70 75 60 80 55 55 40 60

75 72.5 70 55 50

Non-misleading and prompt question.

80 70 70 75 60 80 55 55 40 60

75 72.5 70 55 50

Conclusion and Evaluation There is a clear link between the severity of the word and the estimated speed of the vehicles. All of the participants in both groups watched the video twice. The first group were all questioned separately so none of their answers were influenced.