Conformity among eyewitnesses: effect of false information on criminal reports

Abstract

The current study investigated how misinformation presented to eyewitnesses can affect the reliability of their reports. An experiment was conducted with 54 participants, divided in two conditions. All participants watched a video of a crime scene, and then answered a questionnaire about the content of the video. In one condition participants filled the questionnaire individually and then discussed their answers with a confederate, instructed to provide misinformation to participants. After the discussion participants were required to provide a new report. In another condition participants made the whole procedure individually, without receiving any misinformation. Mistakes in the presence of the confederate were higher when compared to the condition with no confederate. Potential factors underlying the distortion of memories through conformity, as well as practical implications of the results are discussed.

conformity; eyewitnesses; false memories; social influence; experimental social psychology