...Eyewitnesses and the Weapon Focus Effect in children Adults and the Elderly Maria Urtado Florida International University ABSTRACT The “weapon focus effect” (WFE), states that a witness of a crime remembers fewer details about the perpetrator’s appearance when the perpetrator has a gun. To date, there are no studies of older adults and the WFE. The present study measures the WFE in older adults (60-70) compared to young adults (20-40) and children (8-12). The study consisted of 180 participants, randomly selected to watch one of three videos. The three videos were the same, with the exception of an object being manipulated. Conclusions were based on how much detail participants were able to recall about the target. Older adults remembered fewer details about the target’s appearance than children and young adults. The results suggest that older adults would take longer focusing on an object that is out of context, therefore, not focusing on the perpetrator, resulting in fewer details remembered. Eyewitness and the Weapon Focus Effect in children compared to the elderly Many people have been convicted of crimes that they did not commit. Eyewitness testimony is one of the major causes for these wrong convictions. At least 75% of wrongful convictions are the result of inaccurate eyewitness identification (Innocent Project, 2009). Before the public became aware of the large amount of wrongful convictions, psychology researchers...
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...presents a training conference: Minimizing Casualties and Limiting Collateral Damage Human Effects Focus Day: August 20, 2012 Main Summit Days: August 21 – 22, 2012 Washington, D.C. Metro Area for the highly-anticipated law enforcement and military operator panels! Look inside See pages 4 & 5. Unprecedented representation from key decision-makers in alternative weapons: Rear Admiral Massimo Annati Director/Chairman European Working Group on Non-Lethal Weapons Alan Ashworth, Ph.D Senior Science Advisor, Bioeffects Division U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory Lieutenant Colonel Christian De Cock Chief of Operational Law/President Commission on the Evaluation of New Weapons Belgian Armed Forces Special Agent Robert Redd ATF Special Response Team Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Lieutenant Commander Kenneth Nagie Office of Specialized Capabilities United States Coast Guard Raymond Grundy Branch Head, Escalation-of-Force USMC Deputy Commandant for Combat Development and Integration Gain insight into the latest non and less-lethal initiatives in sessions that will: • Examine ways to respond to hostile situations with escalationof-force options that minimize casualties and collateral damage • Identify opportunities for industry to provide the best nonlethal weapon systems with a range of capabilities across the full spectrum of threats and crises • Show how non-lethal technologies can be applied to counter insurgency scenarios • Discuss less-lethal...
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...assessing the accuracy of memory after witnessing a car accident, and including leading questions to assess whether they could affect immediate recall. The researchers showed forty five students seven different traffic accidents, and giving each participant a questionnaire asking specific questions about the accidents. They also asked the critical question of ‘how fast were the cars going when they hit each other?’ however the other groups where given other verbs of smashed, collided, bumped and contacted instead of hit. Their findings included they word ‘smashed’ generated the highest mean score of 40.8 mph and ‘contacted’ generated the lowest of 31.8 mph. Loftus and Palmer reached the conclusion that the form of questioning has a significant effect on witnesses accounts of events. Therefore EWT is unreliable and inaccurate according to these researchers, although others can dispute this. Yuille and Cutshall (1986) interviewed thirteen people who had witnessed an armed robbery in Canada. These interviews took place four months later, and the interviews included two misleading questions, these questions did not affect the witnesses’ accuracy to accounts they had given police at the time of the crime, and very still detailed descriptions of the event. Meaning that information given after events does not affect memory and accurate recall in real life EWT. Age can also affect accuracy, Parker and Carranza (1989) conducted a study to...
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...Control On January 1989,a mass shooting occurred in Stockton,California,were 34 students and one teacher were killed.Two months after the shooting occurred,President George H W Bush issued a ban on importing all semi-automatic weapons into the US, but the United States Congress felt that the current ban was not strong enough.For that reason,in November 1993, Congress proposed an assault weapons ban that would ban assault weapons in the U.S. for ten years.The ban would include the production and possession of semiautomatic weapon. The assault weapons ban was passed by congress and signed into law by President Clinton and was in effect for ten years.On September 13,2004 ,the current assault weapons ban was about to expire,but congress house...
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... Kin Ruan 4/8/12 D.Cooper Green Class Every big event usually has very huge impact affecting the world we are in nowadays. These events happened decide how the world is going to be, such as the Cold War that made changes in the U.S. military. The Cold War happened between the U.S. and USSR from 1945 to 1991. During the Cold War, the two superpowers were competing with each other. They had varieties of competitions in different ways such as nuclear arms race. One of the biggest reasons for their competitions is that the U.S. and the USSR have two different political systems. As the final result we occur today, the Cold War forced the U.S. to cease their nuclear weapons and instead focus on conventional weapons. Both the United States and the Soviet Union emerged right after the World War II as the two strongest powers in the world, advanced in various aspects such as technology, military, and economy. However, their development was based on two different political systems that to some extent go against each other. These two national systems were very different. The system in the U.S. called capitalism. Capitalism has been known by profit income, private wealth, competitive markets, and inequality classes. The system emphasizes on personal ownership and individual development. The system in the USSR called communism. It is the opposite system to the capitalism. The communism is known by its public ownership. There should...
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...become in the future. It will be explained how the vision, mission, and value of the new division align with the company’s mission and vision. There will be a summary of how the vision, mission, and values guide the division’s strategic direction. The guiding principles and values for the division in the context of culture, social responsibility, and ethics will be defined in this paper. New Product Proposal Alons’ Petroleum bombs for military weapons to defend the U.S. against terrorist, foreign, and domestic enemies of the U.S. Breathing petroleum vapors will cause nervous system effects (such as headache, nausea, and dizziness) and respiratory problems. High exposure will cause coma and death. When skin is in contact with liquid petroleum skin irritation occurs, it will also affect the blood and kidney system (Schneiderman, 2012). Most of us do not like the idea of new weapons to harm others but it is a necessity to defend our country, other countries, and innocent people of other countries against attacks and violence. The focus here is providing Petroleum bombs to the U.S. military to defend our country and innocent people from attacks. Alons’ innovation mission statement for the Petroleum bombs is to help the U.S. protect our country against terrorist, foreign, and domestic enemies of the U.S. by providing the military with petroleum bombs to defend the incent. Unlike most bombs the petroleum bomb is only meant to affect its’ target until the vapors dissipate; this...
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...The movie Captain America is an entertaining twist to the events of World War II. World War II was a tragic event for many countries. Many families across the world lost their loved ones. There are many historical inaccurate facts portrayed in the movie. The directors added in new parts and eliminated the accuracy of World War II. The United States entered World War II after Japan bombed the United States at Pearl Harbor. In the movie there is no indication why we enter the War, but we are already involved when the movie begins. The directors leave out this information because the point of the movie is to entertain the viewers not to inform. The focus of the movie is on the Nazis and a group called Hydra, by including Pearl Harbor the director...
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...happened, making sure they are describing the order of the events and the people involved. It also consists of the witness retaining information for a period of time (this can be a very long time) and finally it consists of the witness retrieving the information whilst they are in court. Eyewitness Testimony does have real life applicability as many people through DNA and false witnesses are sent to prison for crimes they did not commit therefore it is important to fully understand EWT to avoid innocent people being wrongfully punished. Eye witness testimonies are affected by a number of factors, but the one that I am going to focus on is anxiety. Many different laboratory studies and some ‘real life’ studies have generally shown recall is less accurate in people who have witnessed particularly distressing or anxiety filled situations. The weapon focus effect was created by Loftus (1979), she asked participants to sit outside a laboratory where they thought they were waiting to participate in an experiment, but they were actually already in it. As they were 'waiting', they heard a discussion between two people inside the laboratory. In one group, participants heard a discussion about an equipment failure, a man then appeared from the room with greasy hands holding a pen. In the other group, participants heard a hostile discussion, followed by the sound of breaking glass and overturned furniture, a man then emerged from the room holding a knife covered in blood. Loftus then showed...
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... Witnesses are often inaccurate in their recollection of events and the people involved. As you can probably imagine, this has important implications when it comes to police interviews. Many cognitive psychologists focus on working out what factors affect the accuracy of eyewitness testimony, and how accuracy can be improved in interviews. Loftus and palmer (1974) studied eyewitness testimony and investigated how EWT can be distorted. Loftus and Zanni (1975) also looked at leading questions. Loftus and Zanni (1975) showed participants a film of a car accident, then asked them either ‘did you see the broken headlight?’ or ‘did you see a broken headlight?’ there was no broken headlight, but 7% of those asked about ‘a’ broken headlight claimed they saw one, compared to 17% in the group asked about the accuracy of people’s memories of an event. The accuracy of eyewitness testimony is affected by many factors as well as leading questions, there are other factors that can affect the accuracy of eyewitness testimony. The age of the witness can affect the accuracy of recall, Valentine and Coxon (1997) studied this and it showed that the age of the witness can have an effect on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony. Anxiety can also affect focus. Psychologists tend to believe that small increases in anxiety and arousal may increase the accuracy of memory, but high levels have a negative...
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...major concern in American society right now concerning the ownership of assault weapons. These types of weapons, specifically rifles, have become quite a novelty for gun enthusiasts, but a very small number of the population has used these weapons to create scenes of horrific violence. Is there really a need for these types of weapons in our country? Would an actual ban produce the effects that most gun control activists envision? I personally feel that the blame cannot be put in just one place. When discussing gun violence, it can be argued that the weapons are not to blame, but the person who is in control of them. To contrast that way of thinking, fault can also be found with the types of semiautomatic weapons sold to the public and how easy they are to acquire. Assault weapons that would be subject the kind of gun ban that has...
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...Outline research that supports the factors you have chosen Steblay (1992) found that the presence of a weapon significantly reduces the probability that the witness will be able to later identify the offender. Witnesses are possible to focus on the weapon instead of the offender's face. Brain (2002) also stated that as a result of weapon focus, witness’ recall of an offender’s appearance is less clear. On the other hand, a field study of real-life witnesses exposed to highly violent events suggests that they can give very accurate testimony. Yuille & Cutshall (1986) showed that folks, who had witnessed a thief being shot six times outside a gun shop in Canada, had remarkably accurate memories of the event. The police interviewed the witnesses...
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...On August 6, 1945, the United States used a massive, atomic weapon against Hiroshima, Japan. This atomic bomb, the equivalent of 20,000 tons of TNT, flattened the city, killing tens of thousands of civilians. While Japan was still trying to comprehend this devastation three days later, the United States struck again, this time, on Nagasaki.[1] The atomic bombings of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan were conducted by the United States during the final stages of World War II in 1945. These two events represent the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date. [2] Following a firebombing campaign that destroyed many Japanese cities, the Allies prepared for a costly invasion of Japan. The war in Europe ended when Nazi Germany signed its instrument of surrender on 8 May, but the Pacific War continued. Together with the United Kingdom and the Republic of China, the United States called for a surrender of Japan in the Potsdam Declaration on 26 July 1945, threatening Japan with "prompt and utter destruction". The Japanese government ignored this ultimatum, and the United States deployed two nuclear weapons developed by the Manhattan Project. American airmen dropped Little Boy on the city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945, followed by Fat Man over Nagasaki on 9 August.[3] Within the first two to four months of the bombings, the acute effects killed 90,000–166,000 people in Hiroshima and 60,000–80,000 in Nagasaki, with roughly half of the deaths in each city occurring on the first...
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...Denuclearization Declaration. (Wit, 2004) In1993, the first nuclear crisis out broke with North Korea’s announcement of its intension to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. This movement had increased tension among the countries in Asia. In 2003, the first Six-Party Talk started in Beijing including China, South Korea, Japan, Russia and the United State, which was the negotiation to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue. (Rinehart, 2013) The attitude of North Korea was still tough that the announcement of its ownership of nuclear weapons in 2005 resulted in the second nuclear crisis. The negotiations were still ongoing and the issues seemed difficult to solve with diplomacy and pressue. In Chapter two, the research will focus on the character and effect of the nuclear weapons. The nuclear weapon is a kind of sophisticated device with ability to cause enormous instantaneous devastation and emit the radiation that has persistent effects for human health. It was firstly...
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... | |Nuclear has been the biggest fear in the world when it is used as |Nuclear Threat Nuclear weapon and its physical damage | |weapon and it has insurmountable negative effects on societies in |Nuclear weapon deterioration of health – what kinds of radiation are | |terms of its physical destruction and deterioration on human health. |emitted in a nuclear explosion and what effect do they have on human | |Not a thesis statement but a statement of fact. |beings? | |Try: Why is it best for nuclear attack victims to be right at Ground |http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/ocr_gateway_pre_2011| |Zero? |/living_future/4_nuclear_radiation1.shtml | |Working Thesis Statement: Countries may use the nuclear weapons in |Oral Presentation Thesis Statement (must be based on PART of the | |future because of the possibility of religious war and the other |research project): The time between 1946 and 2012, no atomic bomb had| |reasons. |been used even as an overt thread threat in any warpolitical crisis, | |I will argue that there is a strong possibility that nuclear weapons |the reasons … (I will find by researching.) | |will be used in the near future. ...
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...a problem when trying to make changes. Taking all things into account, the positive effects would be far greater than the negative effects. School uniforms should be mandatory in public schools because their use would lead to higher education, less violence, and lower cost to parents. By requiring school uniforms in public schools, education will be improved and a dress code can enforce discipline towards learning. Uniforms improve a person’s outlook toward success as students generally act the way they are dressed. With fewer distractions, students see the school as a workplace for teaching and learning. Students also have less stress in their lives because they are not in a fashion show or competition. Dress codes also lead to a change in grades and part of the change is because it would be easier for students to focus on their academics when everyone is dressed the same. School uniforms would also decrease violence in public schools. There would be less peer pressure toward trying to fit in with the in-crowd and distractions from studies. Uniforms being required would cause the students not to focus on their appearance. School requiring uniforms would cut down on weapons tremendously, by not being able to conceal a weapon. Violence will decrease because it will be difficult to conceal a weapon while wearing a school uniform which will also prevent being able to hide the weapons and bring them to school or...
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