Can Implicit Associations Distinguish True and False Eyewitness Memory? Development and Preliminary Testing of the IATe

Abstract

Eyewitness identification has been shown to be fallible and prone to false memory. In this study we develop and test a new method to probe the mechanisms involved in the formation of false memories in this area, and determine whether a particular memory is likely to be true or false. We created a seven-step procedure based on the Implicit Association Test to gauge implicit biases in eyewitness identification (the IATe). We show that identification errors may result from unconscious bias caused by implicit associations evoked by a given face. We also show that implicit associations between negative attributions such as guilt and eyewitnesses' final pick from a line-up can help to distinguish between true and false memory (especially where the witness has been subject to the suggestive nature of a prior blank line-up). Specifically, the more a witness implicitly associates an individual face with a particular crime, the more likely it is that a memory they have for that person committing the crime is false. These findings are consistent with existing findings in the memory and neuroscience literature showing that false memories can be caused by implicit associations that are outside conscious awareness. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley& Sons, Ltd.

Can implicit measures detect source information in crime-related amnesia?

“…In aIAT terms, faster responses should be facilitated when a true logical statement is associated with a real autobiographical eventcongruent blockrather than when a true logical statement is associated with a fabricated autobiographical eventincongruent block. The aIAT has been used in different domains such as mock crimes (Sartori et al, 2008), detection of past intentions (Zangrossi, Agosta, Cervesato, Tessarotto, & Sartori, 2015) flashbulb memories (Curci et al, 2015;Lanciano, Curci, Mastandrea, & Sartori, 2013), eyewitness identification (Helm, Ceci, & Burd, 2016), and performed vs. not-performed and imagined vs. not-imagined actions discriminations (Takarangi, Strange, & Houghton, 2015;Takarangi, Strange, Shortland, & James, 2013).…”

Cognitive Mechanisms Behind the Memory-Undermining Effect of Feigned Crime-Related Amnesia

“…In aIAT terms, faster responses should be facilitated when a true logical statement is associated with a real autobiographical eventcongruent blockrather than when a true logical statement is associated with a fabricated autobiographical eventincongruent block. The aIAT has been used in different domains such as mock crimes (Sartori et al, 2008), detection of past intentions (Zangrossi, Agosta, Cervesato, & Sartori, 2015) flashbulb memories (Curci et al, 2015;Lanciano, Curci, Mastandrea, & Sartori, 2013), eyewitness identification (Helm, Ceci, & Burd, 2016), and performed vs. not-performed and imagined vs. not-imagined actions discriminations (Takarangi, Strange, & Houghton, 2015;Takarangi, Strange, Shortland, & James, 2013).…”