Article Version of Record

Does Talking About Emotions Influence Eyewitness Memory? The Role of Emotional vs. Factual Retelling on Memory Accuracy

Author(s) / Creator(s)

Soleti, Emanuela
Curci, Antonietta
Bianco, Antonella
Lanciano, Tiziana

Abstract / Description

Eyewitnesses typically talk about the crimes they have seen. The different ways in which a witness talks can also influence later recollections. Indeed individuals can talk about crimes in order to cope with their negative emotions or to provide a detailed report. In the current study we investigated the role of factual vs. emotional retelling on memory accuracy of individuals who have eyewitnessed and discussed an emotional event. Participants were shown a video in which a quarrel between strangers was evident, then they were assigned to one out of three experimental conditions, i.e., (a) talking in group about emotional reactions to the video, (b) talking in group about factual details of the video; (c) completing an unrelated task. We employed a novel procedure in groups that ensured more ecological validity; retelling with other co-eyewitnesses in fact resembles real life situation. Eyewitnesses’ memory for details of the video was assessed immediately before the retelling session and after a short delay. Results showed that while factual retelling prevents memory impairment over time, emotional retelling determined less detailed memories. Implications for forensic assessments of eyewitness’ memory were discussed.

Keyword(s)

memory accuracy factual retelling emotional retelling eyewitness testimony

Persistent Identifier

Date of first publication

2012-11-30

Journal title

Europe's Journal of Psychology

Volume

8

Issue

4

Page numbers

632–640

Publisher

PsychOpen GOLD

Publication status

publishedVersion

Review status

peerReviewed

Is version of

Citation

Soleti, E., Curci, A., Bianco, A., & Lanciano, T. (2012). Does Talking About Emotions Influence Eyewitness Memory? The Role of Emotional vs. Factual Retelling on Memory Accuracy. Europe's Journal of Psychology, 8(4), 632–640. https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v8i4.526
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Soleti, Emanuela
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Curci, Antonietta
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Bianco, Antonella
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Lanciano, Tiziana
  • PsychArchives acquisition timestamp
    2018-11-21T10:00:50Z
  • Made available on
    2018-11-21T10:00:50Z
  • Date of first publication
    2012-11-30
  • Abstract / Description
    Eyewitnesses typically talk about the crimes they have seen. The different ways in which a witness talks can also influence later recollections. Indeed individuals can talk about crimes in order to cope with their negative emotions or to provide a detailed report. In the current study we investigated the role of factual vs. emotional retelling on memory accuracy of individuals who have eyewitnessed and discussed an emotional event. Participants were shown a video in which a quarrel between strangers was evident, then they were assigned to one out of three experimental conditions, i.e., (a) talking in group about emotional reactions to the video, (b) talking in group about factual details of the video; (c) completing an unrelated task. We employed a novel procedure in groups that ensured more ecological validity; retelling with other co-eyewitnesses in fact resembles real life situation. Eyewitnesses’ memory for details of the video was assessed immediately before the retelling session and after a short delay. Results showed that while factual retelling prevents memory impairment over time, emotional retelling determined less detailed memories. Implications for forensic assessments of eyewitness’ memory were discussed.
    en_US
  • Publication status
    publishedVersion
  • Review status
    peerReviewed
  • Citation
    Soleti, E., Curci, A., Bianco, A., & Lanciano, T. (2012). Does Talking About Emotions Influence Eyewitness Memory? The Role of Emotional vs. Factual Retelling on Memory Accuracy. Europe's Journal of Psychology, 8(4), 632–640. https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v8i4.526
  • ISSN
    1841-0413
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/1165
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.1357
  • Language of content
    eng
  • Publisher
    PsychOpen GOLD
  • Is version of
    https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v8i4.526
  • Keyword(s)
    memory accuracy
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    factual retelling
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    emotional retelling
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    eyewitness testimony
    en_US
  • Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)
    150
  • Title
    Does Talking About Emotions Influence Eyewitness Memory? The Role of Emotional vs. Factual Retelling on Memory Accuracy
    en_US
  • DRO type
    article
  • Issue
    4
  • Journal title
    Europe's Journal of Psychology
  • Page numbers
    632–640
  • Volume
    8
  • Visible tag(s)
    Version of Record