When an event occurs in our lives, we rely on our memory to recall and reiterate that event. Unfortunately, our memories are not films or recordings of events that we can go back to and look at or rewind to determine precisely what happened. We must reproduce the information from our memory based on our recollection and perhaps a skewed and /or induced version of what we remember. You would like to think that a firsthand account would be the most reliable and dependable source of information concerning an event. However, that may not necessarily be the case based on the misinformation effect and false memories.

The misinformation effect refers to the possibility that remembrance of an event can be influenced by information that is provided or added after an event. It is not only additional information, but how that information is introduced that could cause a disruption of precise recollection. For example, a person is an eyewitness to a robbery being committed with a knife. The eyewitness is later asked did you see what kind of gun was used in the robbery. The fact that the inquisitor had insinuated without a doubt that a gun was used could trigger the misinformation effect and could elicit an inaccurate response from the witness. The witness might question their own memory and believe that a gun was used in the robbery and their recollection will most likely remain that a gun was indeed used in the robbery. To get a more accurate firsthand response from the witness the first question should have been phrased what type of weapon was used in the robbery. When phrased this way the question will induce a response that is not tainted or influenced by the interrogator and will be a more accurate account of what the witness believed they saw.

False memories occur when you remember something that either did not happen or recall it happening differently than it did occur. False memories can be caused by the misinformation effect as misinformation or persuasion will cause a memory to be inaccurate. Additional information added or subtracted to the memory of an event generally through the passage of time can also lead to false memories. When we store information in our memory the memory does not always remain the same it updates. Information can be added or subtracted based on additional information we may have seen or heard. This newly found information can add to the accuracy of the event or further distort the memory by adding false information that will become your permanent memory of the event. For example, if you have a conversation with someone about an event say a party from a month ago. You will collaborate with the individual and revisit things that happened and more than likely come to a consensus agreement as to the undertakings of the evening. This will now be your memory of the party. You either created or corrected a false memory.

To test the reliability of eyewitness testimony and exhibit the misinformation effect as well as false memories, collaborate with your spouse and try to remember the events of your wedding day. Who was there, what the seating arrangement was, what you ate anything that you can think of? You more than likely will come up with several circumstances when you and your spouse disagree and if not, that is good as well. Now, go back and look at your wedding video. Inevitably you will find a difference in what you recall and the actual events that occurred. The events that you inaccurately recalled compared to the video are false memories. If you are not married think about the last class reunion you attended. The conversations more than likely revolved around events from the past that made you and others recall information from memory. As you reminisced, you probably found more than one instance where there were different perceptions and interpretations of events. People thought that you were at events that you did not attend and there was what you deemed other inaccuracies in the stories being told. More than likely you conspired with old classmates to correct the inaccuracies and simply reformed your memory. The newly discovered version of events had now become your updated memory of what happened. Whether it did or did not happen that way. You have succumbed to the misinformation effect and created false memories.

Based on the misinformation effect and false memories how reliable is eyewitness testimony? If the information has not been influenced, coerced, or allowed to wait too long for retrieval, probably pretty good. If not, information is likely to become distorted and not an accurate depiction of the events especially over time. Films or recordings may be the only true eyewitness testimony.

References
Goldstein, E. B. (2011). Cognitive psychology: Connecting mind, research and everyday experience (4th ed.). Wadsworth, Inc.