"With a little help from my friends...": the role of co-witness relationship in susceptibility to misinformation.
Inaccuracies in eyewitness accounts can occur when witnesses are exposed to post-event misinformation via discussion with a co-witness. The current study examined the role of co-witness relationship by comparing the memory performance of pairs of romantic couples, friends and previously unacquainted strangers with that of individuals. Ninety-six participants viewed an event and then discussed the witnessed event with a stranger, a romantic partner or a friend. One member of each pair saw a theft take place during the witnessed event. Individual group participants did not discuss the witnessed event with anyone. Results indicate that all co-witness dyads produced less accurate recall accounts than participants who did not interact with another witness. However, witnesses who were previously acquainted with their co-witness (either in a friendship or romantic relationship) were significantly more likely to report information obtained from their co-witness that they had not seen themselves. Prior acquaintance also led to an increased number of incorrect attributions of both guilt and innocence.
Hope
Lorraine
L
Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, UK. lorraine.hope@port.ac.uk
Ost
James
J
Gabbert
Fiona
F
Healey
Sarah
S
Lenton
Emma
E
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D003142:Communication; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012919:Social Behavior; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D013404:Suggestion; D013800:Theft / Q000523:psychology