Intelligence, Authority and Blame Conformity: Co-witness Influence Is Moderated by the Perceived Competence of the Infor
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Intelligence, Authority and Blame Conformity: Co-witness Influence Is Moderated by the Perceived Competence of the Information Source Dara Mojtahedi 1
&
Maria Ioannou 1 & Laura Hammond 2
# The Author(s) 2019
Abstract Previous research suggests that co-witness influence is heavily dependent on how eyewitnesses perceive the source of information, with perceived credibility, authority and memory accuracy identified as significant predictors. However, very little research has directly investigated the effects of perceived intelligence on co-witness influence. The present study used confederates to expose participants (N = 182) to misinformation about a witnessed event, prior to collecting their statements. Participants were paired up with a confederate who was presented as either a PhD student (high intelligence), police officer (high authority), neutral (no information provided) or completed the study individually (control). Results found that participants were significantly more likely to blame the wrong person for the crime if it had been suggested to them by a police officer or PhD student. Implications of the findings suggest that the characteristics and perceptions of co-witnesses can moderate the risks of statement contamination. Keywords Blame conformity . Eyewitness . Memory conformity . Police
Introduction Co-witness Discussions Post-event discussions (PEDs) amongst co-witnesses are a common occurrence; one report indicate that up to 86% of real-life eyewitnesses will discuss the event with their cowitnesses prior to giving evidence (Paterson and Kemp 2006). The manifestation of a co-witness discussion can create significant problems for investigators by creating an environment where eyewitnesses are at risk of being misled by their co-witnesses into reporting inaccurate information within their statements—a process commonly known as memory conformity (Mojtahedi 2017; Tousignant et al. 1986; Wright * Dara Mojtahedi [email protected] Maria Ioannou [email protected] Laura Hammond [email protected] 1
Department of Psychology, School of Human and Health Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Queensgate, Huddersfield HD1 3DH, UK
2
Birmingham City University, The Parkside Building, 5 Cardigan St, Birmingham B4 7BD, UK
et al. 2000). This phenomenon has been extensively researched, with a consensus that exposure to misinformation during a PED can have negative effects on the memory recollection of eyewitnesses (Carlucci et al. 2010; Gabbert et al. 2004; Garry et al. 2008; Mojtahedi et al. 2017a; Mojtahedi et al. 2019; Paterson and Kemp 2006). Perhaps one of the most adverse consequences of a co-witness discussion is the possibility for memory conformity to occur when the witness is later attempting to attribute blame (Mojtahedi et al. 2017b; Mojtahedi et al. 2018a; Mojtahedi et al. 2018b; Thorley 2015; Thorley and Rushton-Woods 2013). This process of blame conformity was demonstrated by Thorley (2015). The study found that participants were significantly more likely to blame an innocent bystander
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