Eyewitness Evidence Obtained with the Self‐Administered Interview© Is Unaffected by Stress
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Summary The Self‐Administered Interview© (SAI) serves to elicit eyewitness statements directly after the crime. Witnesses could still experience stress then. Because stress during retrieval produces memory‐impairing effects, this study sought to compare the SAI with free recall under stress. An interaction between stress and interview was expected such that the SAI would elicit more comprehensive accounts than free recall in the control, but not in the stress group. One hundred and twenty‐seven participants underwent a stress or control task. They witnessed a live staged crime and completed an SAI or a free recall. The SAI elicited a higher number of correct verifiable event details and a higher number of correct and incorrect perpetrator details than free recall. Accuracy rates were unaffected. Unexpectedly, despite causing moderate stress‐induced cortisol elevations, stress exposure did not influence memory performance and did not interact with interview type. Hence, the SAI can safely be used, when witnesses are moderately stressed.Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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Analyses of the recall data collected in the current study showed no effect of stress.
“While analyses of the recall data collected in the current study also showed no effect of stress (Krix et al., 2016)”
From Stress, stress-induced cortisol responses, and eyewitness identification performance (2016) · cites this paper as Krix et al., 2016
Cites
Crawford, J. R., & Henry, J. D. (2004) · British Journal of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1348/0144665031752934 · Cited by 2,957 · cited 1× · see citing works
“The negative affect subscale of the PANAS (Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988) was used as a valid tool to measure subjective distress (see also Crawford & Henry, 2004).”
MethodEmotional stress and eyewitness memory: A critical review
Christianson, S.-Å. (1992) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.112.2.284 · Cited by 1,112 · see citing works
A meta-analytic review of the effects of high stress on eyewitness memory
Deffenbacher, K. A., Bornstein, B. H., Penrod, S. D., & McGorty, E. K. (2004) · Law and Human Behavior · doi:10.1007/s10979-004-0565-x · Cited by 489 · cited 4× · see citing works
“Insight into this matter is important, because the SAI is routinely completed directly after the crime, when witnesses may still be stressed, which could negatively influence recall performance (e.g., Deffenbacher et al., 2004; Smeets et al., 2008).”
BackgroundResultInfluentialVivid memories of emotional events: the accuracy of remembered minutiae
Heuer, F., & Reisberg, D. (1990) · Memory & Cognition · doi:10.3758/bf03198482 · Cited by 454 · see citing works
Stress, stress-induced cortisol responses, and eyewitness identification performance
Sauerland, M., Raymaekers, L. H. C., Otgaar, H., Memon, A., Waltjen, T. T., Nivo, M., Slegers, C., Broers, N. J., & Smeets, T. (2016) · Behavioral Sciences & the Law · doi:10.1002/bsl.2249 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
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Stress, stress-induced cortisol responses, and eyewitness identification performance
Sauerland, M., Raymaekers, L. H. C., Otgaar, H., Memon, A., Waltjen, T. T., Nivo, M., Slegers, C., Broers, N. J., & Smeets, T. (2016) · Behavioral Sciences & the Law · doi:10.1002/bsl.2249 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Self-citationThe effects of acute stress on eyewitness memory: An integrative review for eyewitness researchers
Marr, C., Sauerland, M., Otgaar, H., Quaedflieg, C. W. E. M., & Hope, L. (2021) · Memory · doi:10.1080/09658211.2021.1955935 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
“Examining acute stress effects on memory in a short retention interval may be useful for certain applied settings, such as assessing stress effects on statements gathered from witnesses shortly after a stressful experience (e.g., Krix et al., 2015).”
BackgroundSelf-citation
- Authors
- Krix, A. C., Sauerland, M., Raymaekers, L. H. C., Memon, A., Quaedflieg, C. W. E. M., & Smeets, T.
- Affiliations
- Maastricht University (NL)
- Royal Holloway University of London (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Krix, Alana C.
- Venue
- Applied Cognitive Psychology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2015-09-26
- Volume
- 30
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 103-112
- ISSN
- 0888-4080 (ISSN-L)
- 1099-0720
- OpenAlex
- W2159377723
- Cited by
- 33
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 1
- FWCI
- 1.40
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- Licence
- Locations
- Applied Cognitive Psychology (publishedVersion)
- Research Publications (Maastricht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Deception detection and forensic psychology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Functions and Memory
- Keywords
- eyewitness testimony, self-administered interview, stress, free recall, memory retrieval, cortisol, suspect identification, staged crime, interview accuracy, stress-induced memory impairment
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