Psychology

Effects of Reminiscence in Eyewitness Recall. Justin Hazel, University of Michigan-Flint, Department of Psychology, Flint, MI 48506 The purpose of this study is to measure the amount of reminiscent details given in eyewitness testimony. Reminiscence will be measured on two separate occasions, using different recall conditions in the form of questionnaires. Reminiscence is a problem in eyewitness memory for legal professionals. We are interested in testing reminiscence, to see if it is a naturally occurring phenomenon, and if this phenomenon can be regulated using different recall items. College undergraduates at Florida International University will be the participants in our study. Scores will be calculated by comparing participants answer sheets to a master-list, which has specific details from a videotaped mock crime. Upon returning to finish the study, participants second answer sheet will be compared to their first in order to measure reminiscent, forgotten, consistent or contradictory derails. Due to previous research on reminiscence, and its regularity in the legal field, we predict that reminiscence will be shown to be a common phenomenon, and different, variables such as recall questions, can affect eyewitness testimony.