Enhancing older adults' eyewitness memory for present and future events with the Self-Administered Interview

Julie Gawrylowicz; Amina Memon; Alan Scoboria; Lorraine Hope; Fiona Gabbert

doi:10.1037/a0038048

Enhancing older adults' eyewitness memory for present and future events with the Self-Administered Interview

Psychol Aging. 2014 Dec;29(4):885-90. doi: 10.1037/a0038048. Epub 2014 Nov 3.

Authors

Julie Gawrylowicz¹, Amina Memon², Alan Scoboria³, Lorraine Hope⁴, Fiona Gabbert⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, London South Bank University.
² Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London.
³ Department of Psychology, University of Windsor.
⁴ Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth.
⁵ Department of Psychology, Goldsmith, University of London.

PMID: 25365694
DOI: 10.1037/a0038048

Abstract

Older adults' memory reports are often less complete and accurate than those by younger adults. The current study assessed the suitability of the Self-Administered Interview (SAI) as retrieval support for older eyewitnesses, and examines whether experience with the SAI leads to improved performance on subsequent events where the SAI is not used. Participants recalled an event with the SAI or free recall instructions. After 1 week, all participants watched a second event and freely recalled its content. SAI participants reported more correct details for the initial event, and a "transfer" of the initial recall advantage to the second event was observed.

Publication types

Clinical Trial
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aging / psychology*
Female
Humans
Interviews as Topic / methods*
Male
Mental Recall*
Middle Aged
Recognition, Psychology
Self Care*
Self Report
Time Factors