The Effects of Perceived Intelligence and Authority on Co-witness Influence

Mojtahedi, D. (Speaker), Ioannou, M. (Contributor to Paper or Presentation), Laura Hammond (Contributor to Paper or Presentation)

Activity: Talk or presentation types › Oral presentation

Description

Previous research suggests that co-witness influence is heavily dependent on how eyewitnesses perceive the source of information, with credibility, authority and memory accuracy identified as significant factors (Skagerberg & Wright, 2009; Williamson, Weber, & Robertson., 2013). However, very little research has directly investigated the effects of perceived intelligence on co-witness influence. One Hundred and eighty-two undergraduate students participated in an eyewitness simulation. Using confederates, the researchers exposed participants to misinformation about the 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 participants completed the study on their own (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 are discussed.
Period12 Jul 2019
Event title4th Asian Conference of Criminal and Operations Psychology: A Special Meeting of the Society for Police & Criminal Psychology
Event typeConference
Conference number4
LocationSingapore
Degree of RecognitionInternational