More than Meets the Eye

Overview

Objectives/Goals The purpose of this project is to evaluate which gender is more easily swayed by suggestion. Methods/Materials Male and female subjects were independently shown a video clip of an actual burglary. The participants then received a 12 item questionnaire to complete. The experimenter looked over the answers and verbally indicated there were some wrong answers and asked the participant if they would like to go back and change any. Subjects were then scored depending on how they responded to the leading questions receiving one point for agreeing (Yield). Points were also awarded for answers that were changed (Shift). Points for Yield and Shift were averaged among both male and female respondents and added together to determine an overall eyewitness suggestibility rating. Results There were a total of 68 yields from 33 male subjects for an average score of 2.06. Among 35 subjects there were a total of 59 yields for an average score of 1.69. Results show that males were more susceptible to leading questions or Yield. There were a total of 26 shifts from the 33 male subjects for an average shift rate of 0.79. Among the 35 female subjects, there were 28 shifts for an average shift rate of 0.80. The results show females were about 2 times more likely to shift as compared to males. Conclusions/Discussion The results did not fully support the hypothesis. Men were actually more susceptible to eyewitness suggestibility; however, a notable difference is that men are more likely to make mistakes due to leading questions. Both males and females tend to lose confidence in answers when questioned.

Competition history

• CSEF 2011 Behavioral & Social Sciences · Entry J0428

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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