Eyewitness memory

During my research on memory, I found there are three processes of memory: encoding, storage, and retrieval. The Encoding process is where information enters the memory system most psychologists agree that this is where it all starts. (Licht, Hull, & Ballantyne, 2016, pp. 217-218) The next step in the memory process is storage, which is where information is preserved for possible recollection in the future. The last step is retrieval, which is remembering that information. In my opinion, there are not a lot of pros when it comes to eyewitness testimony because memory can be unreliable.

The only positive thing I can argue is that it helps jurors understand and sympathize with what happened to the victim and also provide a step-by-step timeline. However, this information could be inaccurate or incomplete. The cons outweigh the pros in my opinion. For example, eyewitness testimonies have falsely convicted innocent people of crimes they had no part in. Eyewitness testimony is not very reliable and people can also create false memories over time after revisiting these memories over and over.

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A neuroscientist named Susumu Tonegawa did current research on these false memories and the way memories generalize over time. Tonegawa's team altered the brain cells in mice specifically in the hippocampus part of the brain. In the experiment, they placed the mice in a compartment and allowed them to run around exploring it. (Lacy & Stark, 2013) As they did so, relevant memory-encoding brain cells were produced. The next day, the same mice were placed in a second compartment and given a small shock, which triggered a fear response.

At the same time, the researchers shone a light into the mouse brain to stimulate their memories of the first compartment. That way, the mice learned to associate fear of the electric shock with the memory of the first compartment. (Lacy & Stark, 2013) In the last step in the experiment, the team placed the mice back in the original compartment. The mice froze acting scared even though they had never been shocked in that first compartment. The purpose of this experiment was to suggest that you could instill false memories in the brain. The same manner may happen when strong false memories are created in humans.

I believe that eyewitness testimonies should not serve as the main piece of evidence in a court case. Memories are not retrieved from a simple playback they are reconstructed and sometimes they do not come back complete or accurate. (Licht, Hull, & Ballantyne, 2016, pp. 217-218) When it comes to a legal case trial I think that physical and DNA evidence should be predominate and that should be enough to convict a person without a doubt.