The effect of violent versus non-violent incidents on eyewitness memory

As South Africans are daily subjected to violent incidents for which they are summoned to testify about in court, months or years after the event in question occurred, it is of importance to determine the effect violence has on memory after an extended period of time. The present study not only aimed to determine the accuracy of short-term and long-term memory after exposure to a violent and non-violent incident, but also the relationship between short-term and long-term memory and different biographical variables (occupation, age, gender and race). Four-hundred-and-seventy-four respondents consisting of university students, the business sector and Police College students participated and were divided into a short-term and long-term memory group. After a five to six week retention period a significant decrease in the accuracy scores for both the violent and non-violent incident occurred. Significant higher average scores for all the biographical groups in the short-term memory group in comparisons with the long-term memory groups were obtained.