Eyewitness Testimony by Elizabeth F Loftus

Eyewitness Testimony by Elizabeth F Loftus

Every year hundreds of defendants are convicted on little more than the say-so of a fellow citizen. Although psychologists have suspected for decades that an eyewitness can be highly unreliable, new evidence leaves no doubt that juries vastly overestimate the credibility of eyewitness accounts. It is a problem that the courts have yet to solve or face squarely. In Eyewitness Testimony, Elizabeth Loftus makes the psychological case against the eyewitness. Beginning with the basics of eyewitness fallibility, such as poor viewing conditions, brief exposure, and stress, Loftus moves to more subtle factors, such as expectations, biases, and personal stereotypes, all of which can intervene to create erroneous reports. Loftus also shows that eyewitness memory is chronically inaccurate in surprising ways. An ingenious series of experiments reveals that memory can be radically altered by the way an eyewitness is questioned after the fact. New memories can be implanted and old ones unconsciously altered under interrogation. These results have important implications for court reform, police interrogation methods, defense strategy, and many other aspects of criminal and civil procedure. Eyewitness Testimony is a powerful book that should be required reading for trial lawyers, social psychologists, and anyone who considers the chilling prospect of confronting an eyewitness accusation in a court of law.

An important book about a critical question* New York Times Book Review *
Loftus is a quiet, sincere, and reliable guide to this important research and its applications. * Times Higher Education Supplement *

Elizabeth F. Loftus is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Psychology and Social Behavior at the University of California, Irvine.

SKU	Nicht verfügbar
ISBN 13	9780674287778
ISBN 10	0674287770
Titel	Eyewitness Testimony
Autor	Elizabeth F Loftus
Buchzustand	Nicht verfügbar
Bindungsart	Paperback
Verlag	Harvard University Press
Erscheinungsjahr	1996-03-15
Seitenanzahl	272
Hinweis auf dem Einband	Die Abbildung des Buches dient nur Illustrationszwecken, die tatsächliche Bindung, das Cover und die Auflage können sich davon unterscheiden.
Hinweis	Nicht verfügbar