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The Effects of Age and Negative Feedback on Witness Response

The Effects of Age and Negative Feedback on Witness Response. iIIRG Conference Toronto, Canada 24 – 26 May 2012 Dr. Hazel McMurtrie Hazel.mcmurtrie@strath.ac.uk. Negative Feedback.

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The Effects of Age and Negative Feedback on Witness Response

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  1. The Effects of Age and Negative Feedback on Witness Response iIIRG Conference Toronto, Canada 24 – 26 May 2012 Dr. Hazel McMurtrie Hazel.mcmurtrie@strath.ac.uk

  2. Negative Feedback • “Negative Feedback is any form of interpersonal pressure (IP) applied overtly or implicitly that conveys criticism of an interviewee in relation to how he or she has responded to questions asked”(Baxter et al., in press) • Implicit feedback:- • Repetition of questions (Register & Kihlstrom, 1986); or • Unsupportive / disapproving interviewer manner (Baxter & Boon, 2000)

  3. Response Change (RC) • RC under IP could involve:- • Change of plea; • Changing details of testimony; or • Where interviewees waive their right to silence and begin to answer

  4. Gudjonsson and Clark (1986)Model of Interrogative Suggestibility (IS)

  5. The Ageing Eyewitness • Ageing population • Projected rise in UK population • 23% aged over 65 by 2034 (National Statistics, 2009) • Targets of distraction burglaries (Home Office, 2008), and • Financial scams (Jacoby, 1999) • Increase in older adult involvement with the Criminal Justice System

  6. Age and IP – Literature Review Polczyk et al., (2004) Younger adults (M = 22.3 yrs) Older adults (M = 64.1 yrs) GSS 2 Findings:- No significant differences in the response changes between young and older adults Drake & Bull (2011) Participants (N = 64), (M = 26.36, range 18 – 63) GSS1 Findings:- Response changes increased as age increased.

  7. Present Research Aims & Objectives • To investigate the effects of negative feedback on interviewee response in young, middle-aged, and older adults. • Adapted the procedure of McGroarty & Baxter (2007, 2009); • Retained the GSS questioning-feedback-re-questioning procedure (GSS1, GSS2; Gudjonsson, 1984, 1987); • Video-taped event; • Examined effects of IP associated with neutral and negative feedback

  8. Experimental Hypotheses • Negative feedback to produce significantly greater response changes than neutral feedback. • Following negative feedback older adults expected to change significantly more responses than younger adults.

  9. Methodology • Participants (N = 101, M = 48.35 yrs, range 18 - 82) • Laboratory Experiment • Conditions:- • Feedback: negative / neutral • Age group: younger adults (N = 34, range 18 – 35); middle-aged (N = 37, range 36 – 64); older adults (N = 30, range 65 – 82) • DV – Number of response changes

  10. Materials and Procedure • Filmed event (77 secs, non violent theft of briefcase); • Delayed testing (10 mins); • Free recall (“Tell me everything you can remember about the scene you witnessed in the video”); • 29-item Event Memory Questionnaire (EMQ) • (e.g. Did you see anyone walk past in the background?); • Feedback Delivered; • Re-questioning

  11. Feedback • Negative feedback “From my records here I see that others we’ve asked about this have done better than you. I’d like you to try again, to see if you can do better”. • Neutral Feedback “Thankyou for answering these questions. To ensure that we have your answers recorded correctly, we’ll run through the questions once more”.

  12. Feedback (F = 6.63, p = 0.01, η2 = .07) Age group (F = 3.21, p < 0.05, η2 = .06) Age group * Feedback (F = 4.59, p < 0.05, η2 = 0.09) Neutral Feedback Negative Feedback Response Changes Age Groups Age Groups

  13. Summary and Discussion 1. Negative feedback to produce greater response changes than neutral feedback. Exp hypothesis supported (McGroarty & Baxter, 2007, 2009) 2. Following negative feedback older adults expected to change significantly more responses than younger adults. Exp hypothesis not supported – observed age effect in opposite direction to that expected. Older adults less vulnerable to Interrogative Pressure (Polczyk et al., 2004).

  14. Conclusion • Importance of witness consistency to credibility (Fisher, Brewer, & Mitchell, 2009) • Inconsistent testimony = poor memory or deception? • Younger adults experience interviewee vulnerability incorporated within an interview

  15. Are there any questions?? Thank you for your interest Hazel.mcmurtrie@strath.ac.uk

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