The Role of Self-Construal in Eyewitness Memories: Susceptibility to Different Sources of Information

Abstract

Eyewitness memories are malleable and can be influenced by many factors. This study focuses on how construal of the self can influence the memory and create the post-event misinformation effect. It is hypothesised that individuals with interdependent self-construal are more influenced by an authoritative source than individuals with independent self-construal. After watching a short clip showing a theft, participants were presented with a co-witness testimony including some misinformation, which came either from a police officer off-duty or an anonymous passer-by. Participants, aged 18-35, were recruited in Belgium, Germany, Norway, Slovakia, Switzerland and the UK. They were evaluated regarding their independence/interdependence with the Self-Construal Scale.

Keywords

• post-event misinformation effect, self-construal scale, authority, co-witness