Dividing attention during a witnessed event increases eyewitness suggestibility

Abstract

Real-life witnesses often encounter complex situations that may prevent them from devoting their full attention to encoding forensically-relevant information about the event. Although prior research has demonstrated that divided attention can impair aspects of event memory, the current study examined the effect of attention during encoding of the event on participants' memory for the source of post-event misleading information. Participants first viewed a slide sequence depicting a theft under full or divided attention conditions. Subsequently, they answered questions about the event that included misleading information, and finally received a source test. Results revealed that Divided Attention participants showed poorer memory for event items and were more likely to misattribute post-event misinformation to the event than were Full Attention participants. The findings suggest that typical laboratory conditions (which allow full deployment of attentional resources during encoding) may underestimate the suggestibility of witnesses.

The Impact of Attention on Eyewitness Identification and Change Blindness

“…Similar to Lane's (2006) findings, the results of this study indicate that participants experiencing divided attention are more vulnerable to suggestibility and this can impact on the misidentifications of innocent individuals when compared to those experiencing full attention. Additionally, Nelson et al (2011) had participants complete three questionnaires pertaining to eyewitness testimony prior to completing a 2 minute free-recall task on the events they had witnessed in the video.…”

“…However, if the perpetrator is present in the line-up without the bystander, there is an increase in accurate identification. Lane (2006) and Zaragoza and Lane (1998) found that participants who experienced divided attention were more susceptible to suggestible information. Zaragoza and Lane (1998) examined divided attention by showing participants a slide show of an office theft and asking them to complete a post-event questionnaire.…”

“…Results from this study indicated that those in the experimental condition were more likely to demonstrate an increase in false memories for suggested events. Lane (2006) replicated Zaragoza and Lane's (1998) methodology to examine the effects of divided attention during the encoding of an event on participants' memory. Examining the encoding of a situation while experiencing divided attention is justifiable when considering the number of stimuli present in a situation.…”

“…All music clips included the title of the song in each segment of music played. The use of popular music for dividing attention has been used in previous studies and was found to successfully manipulate attention (Lane, 2006;Zaragoza & Lane, 1998).…”

Testing Increases Suggestibility for Narrative‐based Misinformation but Reduces Suggestibility for Question‐based Misinformation

“…Consistent with this idea, having a better memory for a witnessed event is often associated with lower susceptibility to misinformation. For example, improved encoding of a witnessed event can reduce the misinformation effect (Lane, 2006;Pezdek & Roe, 1995). Similarly, the impact of misinformation is weaker when the witnessed event is still "fresh in mind" than if forgetting has set in (e.g., Chan & Langley, 2011;Loftus, Miller, & Burns, 1978).…”