questioning of reliability is memory, more specifically, its significance towards eye-witness testimony (EWT). EWT is an important area of research into cognitive psychology and memory.
EWT is vital and used in legal systems as evidence in criminal trials in countries all over the world, which relies on the accuracy of human memory/EWT to decide whether a person is guilty or not. Therefore, the reliability of the testimonies is important as it determines ones precious future.
Memory is very important and plays a significant role in EWT. Beforehand, EWT was generally seen as very trustworthy and convincing; Judges, jurors, police and parts of the law enforcement saw and treated EWT as very reliable. However research from various sources now shows that memory can be subjected to distortion and reconstruction.
Researchers have demonstrated that memory may not be as reliable as we think through the use of DNA technology; psychologists have demonstrated that eyewitnesses can be wrong. Memories may be influenced by other factors than what was recorded in the first place, due to the reconstructive nature of memory. The term “reconstructive” refers to the brain’s active processing of information to make sense of the world.
EWT: a legal term, that refers to an account given by people of an event they have witnessed.
RECONSTRUCTIVE MEMORY: memories that are influenced by other cognitive processes such as perception, imagination, semantic memory etc.