The Science of Witness Memory: Implications for Practice and Procedure in International Arbitration

Witness evidence plays a lead role in international arbitrations, yet the reliability of witness evidence in arbitral contexts has received little attention from legal practitioners. Hundreds of scientific studies have highlighted the fragile nature of witness memory and the ease with which memories can become unwittingly corrupted. In this article, we explain why the psychological research on witness memory is relevant to international arbitration and outline some of the key findings that have important implications for procedure and practice. Alongside the large body of science illustrating the malleability of witness memory, there exists a substantial amount of research outlining how best to preserve or maximize the quantity and quality of witness evidence. Indeed, many simple measures can be adopted by arbitrators and counsel, when eliciting and presenting witness evidence. When educated on the psychological science concerning the factors that can render even the most meticulous and honest witness prone to error, fact-finders will be in a far better position to assess witness evidence in international arbitrations.

Investigating the influence of meditation style and practitioner experience on change blindness using a flicker-paradigm.

Change blindness engenders an inability to detect changes made to a visual scene and has negative implications for areas such as road safety and eye-witness memory. Therefore, it’s important to find ways of reducing change blindness to create a safer society. One way this might be achieved is through the practice of meditation. Regular practice of meditation may reduce the effects of change blindness by expanding a practitioner’s consciousness and brain potential over time. This study compared the influence of practitioner experience and medi- tation style- Transcendental Meditation (TM) or Mindfulness-based Meditation (MBM), on change blindness susceptibility. Forty-six participants (30 female and 16 male) with a com- bined mean age of 42 years old, were assigned to two experimental groups depending on the pre-existing meditation style they practiced. Both groups completed an identical experimen- tal task known as a flicker-paradigm where they had to identify changes made to various images. A two-way independent ANOVA revealed a significant effect of meditation style and experience on change-detection reaction times- (F(1,42) =7.22, p < 0.05, = .147), with long-term transcendental meditation practitioners recording faster reaction times (mean = 5927.73, SD = 606.92) on average than long-term mindfulness-based practitioners (mean = 10949.92 SD = 984.72). These results support the contention that long-term practice of transcendental meditation is more effective at reducing change blindness than long-term practice of mindfulness-based meditation.

Rapport building and witness memory: Actions may ‘speak’ louder than words

Building rapport during police interviews is argued as important for improving on the completeness and accuracy of information provided by witnesses and victims. However, little experimental research has clearly operationalised rapport and investigated the impact of rapport behaviours on episodic memory. Eighty adults watched a video of a mock crime event and 24-hours later were randomly allocated to an interview condition where verbal and/or behavioural (non-verbal) rapport techniques were manipulated. Memorial performance measures revealed significantly more correct information, without a concomitant increase in errors, was elicited when behavioural rapport was present, a superiority effect found in both the free and probed recall phase of interviews. The presence of verbal rapport was found to reduce recall accuracy in the free recall phase of interviews. Post-interview feedback revealed significant multivariate effects for the presence of behavioural (only) rapport and combined (behavioural + verbal) rapport. Participants rated their interview experience far more positively when these types of rapport were present compared to when verbal (only) rapport or no rapport was present. These findings add weight to the importance of rapport in supporting eyewitness cognition, highlighting the potential consequences of impoverished social behaviours for building rapport during dyadic interactions, suggesting ‘doing’ rather than simply ‘saying’ may be more beneficial.

The Dynamic and Fragile Nature of Eyewitness Memory Formation: Considering Stress and Attention

Eyewitnesses are often susceptible to recollection failures and memory distortions. These failures and distortions are influenced by several factors. The present review will discuss two such important factors, attention failures and stress. We argue that acute stress, often experienced by eyewitnesses and victims of crimes, directly influences attentional processes, which likely has downstream consequences for memory. Attentional failures may result in individuals missing something unusual or important in a complex visual field. Amongst eyewitnesses, this can lead to individuals missing details, even unusual or important central details, regarding the crime. Surprisingly, few studies have investigated attentional failures in eyewitness scenarios, and none have investigated the relationship between stress, attention, and witness memory. This review will discuss the impact of attentional failures, mainly those resulting from inattentional blindness, in applied contexts in order to bridge to eyewitness scenarios. In addition, we will integrate the applied literature on attentional failures with literature that examines the influences of arousal and stress on attention. We will conclude by presenting how future research may tease apart the independent contributions of arousal and stress on attentional failures and successes and how this research may inform understanding of eyewitness reliability.

The intoxicated co-witness: effects of alcohol and dyadic discussion on memory conformity and event recall

Rationale Co-witness discussion is common and often witnesses are under the influence of alcohol. As such, it is important to understand how such factors may influence eyewitness testimony. Objectives We combined a co-witness memory paradigm with an alcohol administration paradigm to examine the influence of alcohol and dyadic discussion on remembering a mock crime. Methods Intoxicated and sober dyads discussed a previously seen video, whilst in a control condition sober and intoxicated individuals recalled the event on their own. Unknown to the dyads, each discussion partner saw a different version of the video including unique details not present in the other video version. All participants then engaged in a second individual recall attempt. Results Dyads were more likely to recall misleading details in their individual recall attempts compared to the control group. Intoxicated and sober dyads were equally likely to report misleading information. Alcohol intoxication had no negative impact on individuals’ ability to correctly identify the source of their responses. Intoxicated participants recalled fewer details under free recall conditions. Alcohol had a detrimental effect on participants’ confidence in their free recall accounts. Conclusions Possible alcohol-related and social-cognitive mechanisms are discussed which may contribute to the current findings as well as applied implications for interviewing intoxicated witnesses.

La vida trastocada. El sentido de la pandemia en estudiantes de educación superior

El presente trabajo muestra un conjunto de reflexiones enlazadas al proyecto de investigación “Procesos curriculares y prácticas de acompañamiento” (PCyPA) relativas a los efectos de la pandemia en estudiantes de nivel superior. En primer lugar, exponemos algunas problemáticas relativas a dar cuenta del presente a través de algunas temáticas como demanda social, acontecimiento, memoria testigo. Más adelante, describimos el proceso de ser tutor acompañante en el programa Entre pares, que tiende a crear comunidades de aprendizaje relativas a la literacidad en educación superior, estrategia que nos ha permitido producir material narrativo. Continuamos con la exposición de principios básicos del trabajo narrativo que, como telón de fondo, apuntala nuestra trabajo formativo e indagatorio. En la tercera parte, exponemos el sentido que estudiantes dan al vivir en la pandemia a través de tres apartados: el saber caótico del virus; el Covid en casa y mu/danzas en la vida cotidiana y en las trayectorias formativas. Cerramos con algunas reflexiones sobre la pandemia en el mundo y en específico sobre el sentido que los estudiantes otorgan a la experiencia vivida. A VIDA TRASTOCADA. O SIGNIFICADO DA PANDEMIA EM ESTUDANTES DE ENSINO SUPERIOR RESUMO Este artigo mostra um conjunto de reflexões vinculadas ao projeto de pesquisa "Processos curriculares e práticas de acompanhamento" (PCyPA) relacionadas aos efeitos da pandemia em estudantes de nível superior. Em primeiro lugar, apresentamos alguns problemas relacionados ao tempo presente por meio de temas como demanda social, evento, memória, testemunha. Posteriormente, descrevemos o processo de acompanhamento do programa “Entre Pares” que tende a formar comunidades de aprendizagem relacionadas à alfabetização no ensino superior, estratégia que nos permitiu produzir material narrativo. Continuamos com a exposição de princípios básicos do trabalho narrativo que sustentam nosso trabalho formativo e investigativo. Na terceira parte, explicamos o significado que os alunos dão à vida na pandemia por três seções: conhecimento caótico do vírus; o Covid em casa e transformações na vida cotidiana e nas trajetórias formativas. Concluímos com algumas refexões sobre a pandemia no mundo e, especificamente sobre o significado que os alunos dão à experiência vivida. Palavras chave: pesquisa narrativa, coetaneidade, ensino superior, pandemia, Covid-19, acompanhamento THE TRANSFORMED LIFE. THE MEANING OF THE PANDEMIC IN HIGHER EDUCATION STUDENTS ABSTRACT This work shows a set of reflections linked to the research project "Curricular processes and accompanying practices" (PCyPA), is focused to the effects of the pandemic of Covid in higher-level students. First, we expose some problems related to tell of the present history through some themes such as social demand, event, witness memory. Later, we will describe the process of being an accompanying tutor in the Peer-to-Peer program, which can create learning communities affected by literacy in higher education, a strategy that has allowed us to produce narrative material. It continues with the exposition of basic principles of narrative work that, underpins our formative and investigative work. In the third part, we explain the sense that students live in the pandemic through very different sections: the chaotic saber of the virus; Covid at home and changes in daily life and in training paths. We close with some reflections on the pandemic in the world and specifically about the meaning that students give to the lived experience. Keywords: narrative research, coetaneity, higher education, pandemic, Covid-19

Evidence of memory from brain data

Much courtroom evidence relies on assessing witness memory. Recent advances in brain imaging analysis techniques offer new information about the nature of autobiographical memory and introduce the potential for brain-based memory detection. In particular, the use of powerful machine-learning algorithms reveals the limits of technological capacities to detect true memories and contributes to existing psychological understanding that all memory is potentially flawed. This article first provides the conceptual foundation for brain-based memory detection as evidence. It then comprehensively reviews the state of the art in brain-based memory detection research before establishing a framework for admissibility of brain-based memory detection evidence in the courtroom and considering whether and how such use would be consistent with notions of justice. The central question that this interdisciplinary analysis presents is: if the science is sophisticated enough to demonstrate that accurate, veridical memory detection is limited by biological, rather than technological, constraints, what should that understanding mean for broader legal conceptions of how memory is traditionally assessed and relied upon in legal proceedings? Ultimately, we argue that courtroom admissibility is presently a misdirected pursuit, though there is still much to be gained from advancing our understanding of the biology of human memory.

A meta-analytic review of the Self-Administered Interview: Quantity and accuracy of details reported on initial and subsequent retrieval attempts

The Self-Administered Interview (SAI©) is designed to elicit detailed witness reportsin the aftermath of incidents. In two sets of meta-analyses, we compared the number of correct details reported, the number of incorrect details reported, and the accuracy of reports provided by witnesses in initial reports (SAI© vs. other reporting formats) and in subsequent accounts (initial SAI© vs. no initial SAI©). The number of comparisons ranged from 15 to 19, (N = 722 to 977). For initial accounts, the SAI© was associated with more correct details and more incorrect details than other reporting formats; accuracy was slightly lower for the SAI© than for other reporting formats. Subsequent accounts were more detailed and accurate for witnesses who had completed an initial SAI© than for those who had not. The SAI© is an effective tool for capturing detailed initial accounts and for preserving witness memory until a formal interview can be conducted.