Article Version of Record

The Effects of Eye-Closure and “Ear-Closure” on Recall of Visual and Auditory Aspects of a Criminal Event

Author(s) / Creator(s)

Vredeveldt, Annelies
Baddeley, Alan D.
Hitch, Graham J.

Abstract / Description

Previous research has shown that closing the eyes can facilitate recall of semantic and episodic information. Here, two experiments are presented which investigate the theoretical underpinnings of the eye-closure effect and its auditory equivalent, the “ear-closure” effect. In Experiment 1, participants viewed a violent videotaped event and were subsequently interviewed about the event with eyes open or eyes closed. Eye-closure was found to have modality-general benefits on coarse-grain correct responses, but modality-specific effects on fine-grain correct recall and incorrect recall (increasing the former and decreasing the latter). In Experiment 2, participants viewed the same event and were subsequently interviewed about it, either in quiet conditions or while hearing irrelevant speech. Contrary to expectations, irrelevant speech did not significantly impair recall performance. This null finding might be explained by the absence of social interaction during the interview in Experiment 2. In conclusion, eye-closure seems to involve both general and modality-specific processes. The practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Keyword(s)

eyewitness memory eye-closure ear-closure cognitive load modality-specific interference

Persistent Identifier

Date of first publication

2012-05-31

Journal title

Europe's Journal of Psychology

Volume

8

Issue

2

Page numbers

284–299

Publisher

PsychOpen GOLD

Publication status

publishedVersion

Review status

peerReviewed

Is version of

Citation

Vredeveldt, A., Baddeley, A. D., & Hitch, G. J. (2012). The Effects of Eye-Closure and “Ear-Closure” on Recall of Visual and Auditory Aspects of a Criminal Event. Europe's Journal of Psychology, 8(2), 284–299. https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v8i2.472
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Vredeveldt, Annelies
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Baddeley, Alan D.
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Hitch, Graham J.
  • PsychArchives acquisition timestamp
    2018-11-21T10:00:36Z
  • Made available on
    2018-11-21T10:00:36Z
  • Date of first publication
    2012-05-31
  • Abstract / Description
    Previous research has shown that closing the eyes can facilitate recall of semantic and episodic information. Here, two experiments are presented which investigate the theoretical underpinnings of the eye-closure effect and its auditory equivalent, the “ear-closure” effect. In Experiment 1, participants viewed a violent videotaped event and were subsequently interviewed about the event with eyes open or eyes closed. Eye-closure was found to have modality-general benefits on coarse-grain correct responses, but modality-specific effects on fine-grain correct recall and incorrect recall (increasing the former and decreasing the latter). In Experiment 2, participants viewed the same event and were subsequently interviewed about it, either in quiet conditions or while hearing irrelevant speech. Contrary to expectations, irrelevant speech did not significantly impair recall performance. This null finding might be explained by the absence of social interaction during the interview in Experiment 2. In conclusion, eye-closure seems to involve both general and modality-specific processes. The practical implications of the findings are discussed.
    en_US
  • Publication status
    publishedVersion
  • Review status
    peerReviewed
  • Citation
    Vredeveldt, A., Baddeley, A. D., & Hitch, G. J. (2012). The Effects of Eye-Closure and “Ear-Closure” on Recall of Visual and Auditory Aspects of a Criminal Event. Europe's Journal of Psychology, 8(2), 284–299. https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v8i2.472
  • ISSN
    1841-0413
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/1138
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.1330
  • Language of content
    eng
  • Publisher
    PsychOpen GOLD
  • Is version of
    https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v8i2.472
  • Keyword(s)
    eyewitness memory
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    eye-closure
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    ear-closure
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    cognitive load
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    modality-specific interference
    en_US
  • Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)
    150
  • Title
    The Effects of Eye-Closure and “Ear-Closure” on Recall of Visual and Auditory Aspects of a Criminal Event
    en_US
  • DRO type
    article
  • Issue
    2
  • Journal title
    Europe's Journal of Psychology
  • Page numbers
    284–299
  • Volume
    8
  • Visible tag(s)
    Version of Record