Að skapa minningar: minni, athygli og áreiðanleiki vitnisburðar

Abstract

When the reliability of eyewitness testimony is assessed, many factors must be taken into account. Our memories are a conglomeration of what actually occured, our feelings about what happened, the context within which we recall the events, and what we have been told about what occured. In addition, studies of visual attention show how we do not perceive many salient events in our visual field if they are not explicitly attended. This article contains a review of studies of visual attention and of memory and failures of memory with a special emphasis on memories of traumatic events such as accidents, violent crimes and sexual abuse. The conclusion is that what we remember is a creation of the mind and our memory can be very creative when past events are recollected. In many cases, we should therefore tread with caution in believing every detail of the accounts of witnesses.