Assessment Brief

                                                                           False Memories
The US legal system places a lot of
importance on eyewitness memory. Most people would report that they can
accurately convey what they saw in a particular situation. However,
these ideas are not supported by research. Instead, research shows that
memory is quite malleable and is affected by many factors. This research
repeatedly demonstrates that people do not remember exactly what they
experienced. This module’s experiment will show you firsthand how memory
for events is not always one hundred percent accurate.
Access the CogLab demonstration False
Memory. Follow the instructions to complete the demonstration to
familiarize yourself with false memory. Then locate at least one
research study from a peer-reviewed journal that examined how eyewitness
memory can be affected by false memories.
Based on your research, respond to the following situation:
You are considered to be an expert in false
memories, and a local district attorney has therefore requested your
expertise on the following case: 

On Tuesday, March 6, 2007, a bank was robbed
in Slidell, LA. It was just after opening time, 9:04 a.m., and there
were barely any customers, when a car arrived and parked in the side
parking lot of the bank. Two men came out of the car and walked to the
entrance. Both wore dark clothing. Upon entering the bank, they held out
guns and asked for the manager. When the manager identified herself,
the smaller of the two robbers ordered her to open the safe. Meanwhile,
the other robber, a tall, and burley man, walked around holding his gun
in his outstretched arm, and threatening the remaining employees and
customers. The manager complied and the smaller robber collected all the
money and valuables from the safe. After five minutes, the big robber
asked if his companion was ready to go. When he was, the two ran back to
their car, and drove away.

The district attorney has asked that you
create a presentation about false memory and explain how it might
influence this case. He asks that you specifically address the
following:
Describe false memory and false memory experiments.
Use the CogLab experiment to illustrate false memory experiments,
special distracters, and normal distracters.
Describe at least one research study from a
peer-reviewed journal that investigated how eyewitness memory can be
affected by false memories.
Explain how false memory might influence this
particular case. Use specifics from the description of the case, the
CogLab experiment, and research to support your answer.
Using evidence from the case, the CogLab experiment,
and outside research, justify why eyewitness testimonies should or
should not carry weight in criminal proceedings.
Discuss any procedures which can increase or reduce the occurrence of false memories when reporting eyewitness events. Remember, your presentation is designed to
help the jury understand false memory and how it might influence the
eyewitness testimony of this case. You will have ten minutes to present.

Since this is a legal case, you must include
formally written slide notes (proper grammar, proper paragraphs, APA
formatting, and academic tone) with research to support your claims. The
presentation will be a legal document in this case, so make it worthy
of being legally binding!
Develop an 5–6-slide presentation in
PowerPoint format. Apply APA standards to citation of sources. Use the
following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M3_A2.ppt. Please fellow the grading criteria to ensure better grade by the professor
By Wednesday, April 23, 2014, deliver your assignment to the M3: Assignment 2 Dropbox.
Course Project Grading Criteria and Rubric
Assignment 2 Grading Criteria

Maximum Points

Describe false memory and
false memory experiments. Use the CogLab experiment to illustrate false
memory experiments, special distracters, and normal distracters.
(Course Objective [CO] 1)

28

Describe at least one
research study from a peer-reviewed journal that investigated how
eyewitness testimony can be affected by false memory.
(CO 2)

28

Explain how false memory
might influence this particular case. Use specifics from the description
of the case, the CogLab experiment, and research to support your
answer.
(CO 3)

32

Using evidence from the
case, the CogLab experiment, and outside research, justify why
eyewitness testimonies should or should not carry weight in criminal
proceedings.
(CO 3)

36

Discuss any procedures which can increase or reduce the occurrence of false memories when reporting eyewitness events.
(CO 2, CO 3)

32

Presentation Components:
Organization (12)
Style (12)
Usage and Mechanics (16)
APA Elements (4)