Our minds are not video cameras that objectively record and play back all events we see and hear. One reason eyewitness information is often unreliable is that one or more memory processes can be affected

Question

What are those three processes, and what factors can bias them?
What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answer: The three processes are acquisition, storage, and retrieval. Acquisition refers to the amount of environmental stimuli that we actually notice. Research has revealed that neither crime victims nor bystanders are accurate in what they notice and attend to, although bystanders tend to be a little more accurate. This is probably because they are less frightened than victims. Other factors influence what people attend to, take in, and later report; these are the amount of time people have to acquire information, what they expect to see, and how familiar the situation is. Storage refers to the process by which acquired information is stored in memory. Inaccurate memories can result when different pieces of stored information become confused with others (e.g., via poor source monitoring), yielding a reconstructed memory. Finally, retrieval refers to the process by which stored information is recalled or brought forth from memory. Faulty retrieval can result from leading questions, or from people substituting a "best guess" for a true memory.