The Impact of Attention on Eyewitness Identification and Change Blindness

Abstract

The current study investigated whether differences exist in eyewitness identification and change blindness when manipulating attention. 126 undergraduate students were randomly assigned to either a full or divided attention group. Level of attention was found to be a significant predictor for accurate identifi cation, χ 2 (3, N = 126) = 1947, p < .001. Additionally, there was a significant between-group difference on correct recall, t (115.46) = 4.24, p < .001, and self-reported confidence in responses given, t (124) = 3.62, p < .001. Level of attention was a non-significant predictor of participants' detection of change (two-tailed Fisher exact p = .058). Results indicate that level of attention impacts on accurate eyewitness identification.

Examining the effects of acute stress on memory in eyewitness settings

“…These factors may strongly narrow the boundaries of observed effects of acute stress on memory performance, a particularly important element when considering applied implications for legal settings. First, using very basic stimuli such as word lists may reduce effects of stress on attention, which likely plays a larger role in eyewitness settings in the real world (e.g., Hyman et al, 2018;Sammon & Bogue, 2015). Second, several studies have suggested enhanced or impaired memory performance only in subsets of stressed participants, for example high cortisol responders (e.g., Buchanan et al, 2006;Buchanan & Tranel, 2008;Domes et al, 2002;Schönfeld et al, 2014).…”