Remembering remotely: would video-mediation impair witnesses' memory reports?

Robert A. Nash, Kate A. Houston, Kate Ryan, Nigel Woodger

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Witnesses often experience lengthy delays prior to being interviewed, during which their memories inevitably decay. Video-communication technology - favored by intergovernmental organizations for playing larger roles in judicial processes - might circumvent some of the resourcing problems that can exacerbate such delays. However, whereas video-mediation might facilitate expeditious interviewing, it might also harm rapport-building, make witnesses uncomfortable, and thereby undermine the quality and detail of their reports. Participants viewed a crime film and were interviewed either one day later via video-link, one day later face-to-face, or 1-2 weeks later face-to-face. Video-mediation neither influenced the detail or the accuracy of participants' reports, nor their ratings of the quality of the interviews. However, participants who underwent video-mediated interviews after a short delay gave more accurate, detailed reports than participants who waited longer to be interviewed face-to-face. This study provides initial empirical evidence that video-mediated communication (VMC) could facilitate the expeditious conduct of high-quality investigative interviews.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)756-768
Number of pages13
JournalPsychology, Crime and Law
Volume20
Issue number8
Early online date15 Nov 2013
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2014

Bibliographical note

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Psychology, Crime & Law on 15/11/13, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/1068316X.2013.857669

Keywords

  • eyewitness memory
  • interviewing
  • rapport-building
  • videoconferencing
  • virtual justice

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