Eyewitness memory of police trainees for realistic role plays.

Abstract

One hundred and twenty police recruits (probationer constables) being trained at the Metropolitan Police Training Centre in Hendon, England, participated in 1 of 2 occupational simulations, either nonstressful or stressful. Twenty of the recruits in each condition were active participants in the event, whereas the other 40 were observers. Half of the recruits were interviewed after a delay of 1 week and again after 12 weeks. The others were interviewed only once after a period of 12 weeks. Stress decreased the amount recalled but improved both accuracy and resistance to decay over time. Participants recalled more details than observers. Delay of recall and the number of recall trials also affected performance. The results are discussed in terms of the advantages of a research context that permits much of the control of the laboratory while retaining many of the characteristics of actual forensic contexts. As with any new area of scientific inquiry, the first century of eyewitness memory research (e.g., Binet, 1900) has been characterized by debate and an evolution of method. During the past decade, the debate over the ecological validity of the research has taken center stage, as it did in the early part of this century (cf. Wigmore, 1909). The current version of this debate (e.g., Loftus, 1991; Yuille & Wells, 1991) focuses on the relationship between memory as it operates in the laboratory and memory in other contexts. Some have argued that memory is best studied in the laboratory where maximum control and precision are possible (e.g., Banaji & Crowder, 1989). Although there are several problems associated with this argument (see commentaries edited by Loftus, 1991), one salient problem is the inability to produce certain circumstances in the laboratory. For example, for obvious ethical reasons, strong emotional reactions or high levels of stress can no longer be induced in laboratories. Anyone interested in the relationship between emotions or stress and memory must, at some point, leave the laboratory to seek research venues in which such reactions occur naturally. This article reports the results of our first study of eyewitness memory at a police-training college in Hendon, England. Probationer constables of the London Metropolitan Police Force spend the first 20 weeks of their career at this college in initial training. A major component of the training is a series of role