Citation

Riniolo TC, Koledin M, Drakulic GM, Payne RA. J. Gen. Psychol. 2003; 130(1): 89-95.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, Medaille College, Buffalo, NY 14214, USA. tcriniol@yahoo.com

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/00221300309601277

PMID

12635858

Abstract

A handful of real-life studies demonstrate that most eyewitnesses accurately recall central details (i.e., the gist of what happened) from traumatic events. The authors evaluated the accuracy of archival eyewitness testimony from survivors of the Titanic disaster who witnessed the ship's final plunge. The results indicate that most eyewitness testimony (15 eyewitnesses of 20) is consistent with forensic evidence that demonstrates that the Titanic was breaking apart while it was still on the ocean's surface. Despite the methodological limitations of archival research, the authors provide evidence from a single-occurrence traumatic event (with a large-scale loss of life) that the majority of eyewitnesses accurately recall central details.

Language: en