Registered Replication Report: Schooler and Engstler-Schooler (1990)

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Eyewitness Memory Research

Background:

• The verbal overshadowing effect, initially reported as a significant impairment in eyewitness identification after verbal description, has faced scrutiny regarding its effect size.
• Previous research indicated a substantial negative impact on recall accuracy, but recent studies questioned the magnitude of this effect.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct direct replications to clarify the magnitude and reliability of the verbal overshadowing effect.
• To investigate the influence of task timing on the verbal overshadowing phenomenon in eyewitness recall.

Main Methods:

• Two preregistered direct replication studies (RRR1 and RRR2) were conducted.
• Participants watched a simulated bank robbery video and then either verbally described the robber or performed a filler task (listing U.S. states and capitals).
• RRR1 involved immediate description, while RRR2 delayed the description task by 20 minutes.

Main Results:

• In RRR1, verbal description led to a 4% decrease in correct identification compared to the control group.
• In RRR2, a delayed verbal description resulted in a 16% decrease in correct identification.
• These findings confirm a robust verbal overshadowing effect, highly sensitive to the temporal relationship between description and recall.

Conclusions:

• The verbal overshadowing effect is a reliable phenomenon, contrary to some recent suggestions of a smaller effect size.
• The timing of the verbal description task critically influences the magnitude of the verbal overshadowing effect.
• These findings have implications for understanding memory processes and refining police interview protocols for eyewitnesses.