Adult Eyewitness Memory for Single Versus Repeated Traumatic Events

Abstract

Reports from individuals who have witnessed multiple, similar emotional events may differ from reports from witnesses of only a single event. To test this, we had participants (N = 65) view a video of a road traffic accident. Half of the participants saw two additional (similar) aversive films. Afterwards, participants filled out the Self-Administered Interview on the target film twice with an interval of 1 week. Participants who saw multiple similar films were less accurate in recalling details from the target film than participants in the control condition. On their second report, participants were less complete but more accurate compared with their first report. These results indicate that adults who have witnessed multiple repeated events may appear less reliable in their reports than adults who have witnessed a single event. These findings are relevant when evaluating eyewitness evidence and call for new approaches to questioning witnesses about repeated events.

Stereotypes and the Familiar-Stranger: The Role of Previous Contact and Gender Stereotypes on Eyewitness Recall and Recognition Accuracy

“…The results of the current study are in contrast to what was predicted based on research examining event repetition and exposure duration (e.g., McNichol et al, 1999;Theunissen et al, 2017). Research on event repetition has demonstrated that recall of event details increases after being exposed to the same event several times in comparison to one exposure (McNichol et al, 1999).…”

“…Similarly, this explains why the participants who were repeatedly exposed to similar events (but which contained differing verbatim details) in Theunissen et al (2017) showed decreased recall accuracy compared to the group who only witnessed one event. In this study the meaning of the repeated events was the same, but the verbatim details differed, and thus gist memories were retrieved.…”

“…Although this study provides valuable information about event repetition, it was conducted with a child sample; it would be of interest to look to event repetition in adults since the current program of research utilizes an adult sample. Theunissen, Meyer, Memon, and Weinsheimer (2017) conducted a recent study looking at event repetition with adults (ages 18-35). In this study they were looking at whether memory was better for participants who witnessed multiple emotional traffic accidents or participants who witnessed only one traffic accident.…”

“…It is possible that because details changed from the initial exposure (i.e., occupation video) to the second exposure (i.e., crime video; e.g., clothing, view of target, setting) that this impacted the participants' ability to retrieve the information they acquired from the initial meeting. Research on event repetition suggests that if important details of the event do not remain the same from one exposure to the next, recall accuracy may be lower than if the event was experienced only once (McNichol et al, 1999;Theunissen et al, 2017). It is difficult to determine whether this effect of inconsistencies in event repetition would occur with person repetition (i.e., repeated exposure to the same person).…”

Breaking script: Deviations and postevent information in adult memory for a repeated event

“…Most of our autobiographical memory involves multiple experiences with familiar events. Research demonstrates that recalling a single instance from a series of familiar, or similar, activities is difficult for both adults and children (e.g., Means & Loftus, ; Price, Connolly, & Gordon, ; Theunissen, Meyer, Memon, & Weinsheimer, ). Hints to the origin of this difficulty can be found in the literature that demonstrates that both prior knowledge (proactive interference; Keppel & Underwood, ) and new experiences (retroactive interference; Barnes & Underwood, ) can influence memory of a familiar happening.…”