Is There More to It than Meets the Eye?

Overview

Objectives/Goals Our objective was to test and understand the accuracy of eyewitness testimony. The analysis included oral versus written, and accuracy over time. Methods/Materials In order to accomplish the experiment, we gathered two sixth grade classes as test subjects. In total, forty-eight students were tested after witnessing a simulated crime. Half of these were questioned orally and half, written. These tests were performed at the following time intervals: five minutes, five hours, four days, and one week. Results The data from test scores shows memory accuracy peaks at four days, and that written scores were higher than oral. Consistent results in both classes, proves the validity of the results. Conclusions/Discussion Based on our results, we concluded that prior to four days (five minutes after, five hours after), there was not enough time for the correct storage of a memory to take place. However, if more than four days passed (one week after), then the scores decreased. Therefore, we know that four days is the tested ideal amount of time for the memorization process. This contradicted our hypotheses, which stated that oral questioning would be more accurate and that scores would be highest immediately after the event.

Competition history

• CSEF 2010 Cognitive Science (Junior Division Only) · Entry J0616

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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