Marsh John E, Patel Krupali, Labonté Katherine, Threadgold Emma, Skelton Faye C, Fodarella Cristina, Thorley Rachel, Battersby Kirsty L, Frowd Charlie D, Ball Linden J, Vachon François
School of Psychology, University of Central Lancashire.
School of Psychology, Université Laval.
Can J Exp Psychol. 2017 Sep;71(3):183-190. doi: 10.1037/cep0000101. Epub 2017 Jun 12.
Cell-phone conversation is ubiquitous within public spaces. The current study investigates whether ignored cell-phone conversation impairs eyewitness memory for a perpetrator. Participants viewed a video of a staged crime in the presence of 1 side of a comprehensible cell-phone conversation (meaningful halfalogue), 2 sides of a comprehensible cell-phone conversation (meaningful dialogue), 1 side of an incomprehensible cell-phone conversation (meaningless halfalogue), or quiet. Between 24 and 28 hr later, participants freely described the perpetrator's face, constructed a single composite image of the perpetrator from memory, and attempted to identify the perpetrator from a sequential lineup. Further, participants rated the likeness of the composites to the perpetrator. Face recall and lineup identification were impaired when participants witnessed the staged crime in the presence of a meaningful halfalogue compared to a meaningless halfalogue, meaningful dialogue, or quiet. Moreover, likeness ratings showed that the composites constructed after ignoring the meaningful halfalogue resembled the perpetrator less than did those constructed after experiencing quiet or ignoring a meaningless halfalogue or a meaningful dialogue. The unpredictability of the meaningful content of the halfalogue, rather than its acoustic unexpectedness, produces distraction. The results are novel in that they suggest that an everyday distraction, even when presented in a different modality to target information, can impair the long-term memory of an eyewitness. (PsycINFO Database Record
在公共场所，手机通话无处不在。当前的研究调查了被忽视的手机通话是否会损害目击者对犯罪者的记忆。参与者在可理解的手机通话的一方在场（有意义的单边对话）、可理解的手机通话的双方在场（有意义的对话）、不可理解的手机通话的一方在场（无意义的单边对话）或安静的环境中观看了一段模拟犯罪的视频。在24到28小时后，参与者自由描述犯罪者的面部，根据记忆构建犯罪者的单一合成图像，并尝试从顺序排列的一组照片中识别犯罪者。此外，参与者对合成图像与犯罪者的相似度进行了评分。与无意义的单边对话、有意义的对话或安静环境相比，当参与者在有意义的单边对话在场的情况下目睹模拟犯罪时，面部回忆和列队辨认能力受到损害。此外，相似度评分显示，在忽视有意义的单边对话后构建的合成图像与犯罪者的相似度低于在安静环境中、忽视无意义的单边对话或有意义的对话后构建的合成图像。单边对话有意义内容的不可预测性，而非其声音上的意外性，会产生干扰。这些结果很新颖，因为它们表明，即使日常干扰以与目标信息不同的模态呈现，也会损害目击者的长期记忆。（《心理学文摘数据库记录》 ）
