UDEE Observational Memory Recall 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: You are shown a street scene image for 25 seconds, then asked 10 minutes later to recall it. Which category of detail is MOST likely to be accurately remembered?
- Exact street address numbers on buildings
- The general layout and relative positions of major objects (Correct answer)
- The precise number of parked cars
- The exact text on storefront signs
Correct answer: The general layout and relative positions of major objects
Spatial layout and relative positioning are encoded more durably than fine textual or numerical details.
Question 2: A colleague tells you what color jacket a suspect was wearing before you write your report. This can compromise your memory report because of:
- Confirmation bias
- Post-event misinformation effect (Correct answer)
- Source monitoring error
- Retrograde interference
Correct answer: Post-event misinformation effect
The post-event misinformation effect occurs when new information received after an event contaminates the original memory.
Question 3: During a building walkthrough, you have 60 seconds to observe a lobby. Afterward, you are asked how many security cameras were visible. You counted 4, but there were actually 6. This undercount most likely results from:
- Inattentional blindness to ceiling-mounted items (Correct answer)
- Deliberate exaggeration by the investigator
- Poor lighting exclusively
- Change blindness during entry
Correct answer: Inattentional blindness to ceiling-mounted items
Inattentional blindness causes observers to miss objects outside their focal attention, particularly items in unexpected locations like ceilings.
Question 4: An officer views a lineup of six individuals after witnessing a robbery. The actual perpetrator is not included. Under pressure to select someone, the officer picks person #3. This error is best prevented by:
- Telling the officer the perpetrator is definitely in the lineup
- Using a simultaneous lineup instead of sequential
- Using a double-blind sequential lineup procedure (Correct answer)
- Allowing the officer to view the lineup multiple times
Correct answer: Using a double-blind sequential lineup procedure
Double-blind sequential lineups prevent the officer from knowing who administers the lineup or when it ends, reducing suggestibility.
Question 5: You observe a person for 10 seconds and later describe them as 'about 5'10" and 180 lbs.' Research shows that eyewitness height and weight estimates are:
- Generally accurate within 1 inch and 5 lbs
- Prone to significant overestimation of height
- Highly variable and often inaccurate without reference objects (Correct answer)
- More accurate for height than for weight
Correct answer: Highly variable and often inaccurate without reference objects
Without reference objects, people's estimates of height and weight are highly unreliable and vary significantly between observers.
Question 6: After viewing a suspect for 20 seconds under bright sunlight, you later describe the eye color as brown. When the suspect is apprehended indoors, eyes appear hazel. The most likely explanation is:
- You fabricated the detail under pressure
- Lighting conditions significantly affect perceived eye color (Correct answer)
- Hazel and brown are identical descriptors
- Your color perception was impaired
Correct answer: Lighting conditions significantly affect perceived eye color
Eye color appearance changes substantially under different lighting conditions, making it one of the least reliable facial features to recall.
Question 7: An officer must recall the sequence of events in a 30-second incident involving four actions. Which sequence reconstruction technique is most effective for professional memory recall?
- Writing from the most dramatic event backward
- Mental reinstatement of context, then chronological narration (Correct answer)
- Listing only the events the officer is certain about
- Asking a colleague to confirm the sequence first
Correct answer: Mental reinstatement of context, then chronological narration
Mental reinstatement of context — mentally returning to the scene — is a validated technique from the Cognitive Interview method that improves sequential recall.
UDEE Observational Memory Recall 5
You are shown a street scene image for 25 seconds, then asked 10 minutes later to recall it.
Which category of detail is MOST likely to be accurately remembered?