Does the type of eyewitness testimony presented in court influence perceptions of guilt?
Groups/Conditions of the IV: (1) No eyewitness condition, (2) Unchallenged eyewitness condition, (3)
Discredited eyewitness condition
Independent Variable (IV): Type of Eyewitness Testimony
Dependent Variable (DV): guilt ratings (on a scale from 1 [not guilty] to 7 [extremely guilty]).
Hypothesis: Based on the evidence provided by Loftus and Whitley, we predict that participants who are
presented with a discredited eyewitness vignette (e.g., an eyewitness who was not wearing their glasses at the
time of the incident) will rate these defendants more guilty than participants in the no eyewitness condition, but
less guilty than participants in the credible eyewitness condition.
Rationale: In Loftus (1974), there is support for the notion that a discredited eyewitness is more influential than
no eyewitness and led to higher guilt ratings. Whitley's (1987) analysis confirmed that a discredited eyewitness
has a greater influence than no eyewitness, but that a credible eyewitness is the most influential.
Sample Solution