Eyewitness testimony The language used by police when interviewing witnesses and lawyers during a trial can influence the answers given by witnesses, this language can influence initial perception and subsequent memory. Both of these effects are shown in the study by Loftus & Palmer {1974). My experiment in this area showed that the leading question with the "verb" contained the information about what the answer should be, so language can have a distorting effect on the EWT, which can lead to inaccurate accounts of witness accounts. This was certainly true in the study carried out, the majority of participants gave a higher estimate of speed when the word in the critical question was changed from bumped to crashed, although a small number of participants were unable to estimate any speed. speed. However the experiments were conducted by untrained experimenters which could explain possible confounding variables in the way the experimenters may have unknowingly in their overzealousness in proving that the experimental hypothesis may have led the participants using tone of voice, facial expressions etc. to respond accordingly. Studies on ways of Improving the reliability of the EWT to help prevent the conviction of innocent people, it is essential that measures are taken to improve the reliability of eyewitness testimony. EWT considered hypnosis in an attempt to access repressed memories, a study by Putman {1979} concluded that participants were more suggestible in the hypnotic state and therefore more easily influenced by leading questions, however further research on t . ..... middle of paper ... the group of the person seen says that he has committed a crime. Witnesses often remember more details of the crime than the criminal, reconstructing the crime often refreshes their memory of the criminal. When considering interviewing Witnesses should be asked about free recall techniques and avoid being asked ambiguous questions, avoid encouraging guessing, as this may consolidate a false memory. EWT evidence alone is not sufficient and must be supported by other types of evidence, such as forensic or medical evidence. A study by Yuille & Cutshall{1986} examined witnesses who had witnessed actual crimes; they were accurate in recalling major events, but could be misled by questions about peripheral incidents. People in general, but police officers in particular, could benefit from EWT training and some knowledge of associated biases.