Julian and Helena recently witnessed a daytime robbery at a local convenience store. The offender was brandishing a large, serrated kitchen knife to threaten the cashier while grabbing money from the till. Julian, who was interviewed immediately after the incident, provided a highly detailed description of the knife, including its serrated blade and wooden handle, but was unable to identify the offender from a photo lineup.
Two weeks after the incident, Helena gave her statement to the police. She successfully identified the offender from the lineup but insisted that the offender was carrying a silver revolver. Helena, who regularly watches action movies and crime dramas, had spent some time in a waiting area after the robbery chatting with another customer, who also claimed that a silver revolver had been used.
Evaluate factors influencing the eye-witness testimony given by Julian and Helena.
You must make reference to the context in your answer.
Practise Edexcel A Level Psychology Content with exam-style questions for A Level Psychology. 1,059 questions covering Diagnosis of mental disorders (4 Ds), Classification systems (DSM and ICD), Schizophrenia and one other disorder, Treatments for the two disorders, Individual differences, and Developmental psychology, matched to the Edexcel A Level Psychology (9PS0) specification and written in Paper 1, Paper 2 and Paper 3 style. Every question includes a full worked solution and mark scheme, so you can see where marks are awarded rather than just whether you got the answer right.
