Answer to Question 1
Reconstructive memory is a concept underlying the theory that eyewitness testimony
can be altered by exposure to post-event information. According to this theory, first
proposed by Elizabeth Loftus, even false information about an event we have earlier
observed can influence and be incorporated into our memory of that event. For
example, Loftus and Palmer (1974) demonstrated that when participants who viewed a
film of a traffic accident were later asked questions about the accident, the wording of
these questions significantly influenced their recollections. By implication, the accuracy
of eyewitnesses' testimony can be reduced by post-event information to which the
eyewitnesses were exposeda particular concern when the eyewitnesses are
children. Indeed, children have a difficult time distinguishing between their real
memories and the post-event suggestions to which they are later exposed. Laboratory
experiments indicate that preschool-age children are more likely than older children or
adults to incorporate such post-event suggestions into their memories.
Answer to Question 2
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