Periodic Reporting for period 4 - WEIRD WITNESSES (Beyond WEIRD Witnesses: Eyewitness Memory in Cross-Cultural Contexts)
Période du rapport: 2024-02-01 au 2025-07-31
Our increasingly international society demands that eyewitnesses of serious crimes regularly provide testimony in cross-cultural settings, such as international criminal tribunals. This poses significant challenges for investigators and legal decision-makers. Errors in fact-finding may result in wrongful convictions and unjust acquittals. Yet, eyewitness memory research has predominantly focused on Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) witnesses.
The Beyond WEIRD Witnesses project assessed how culture-dependent variables, such as source attribution and reporting style, influence eyewitness memory. The project addressed two key objectives: (1) develop culturally modulated theory of eyewitness memory and (2) design and test evidence-based interview guidelines.
Subproject 1 examined what happens when police investigators interview eyewitnesses from a different cultural background. It involved the systematic coding of culture-dependent variables in video-recorded police interviews with witnesses of serious crimes in South Africa, a society with many different subcultures. In Subproject 2, we analysed the frequency, nature and legal consequences of culture-dependent variables in international criminal cases. It involved an empirical document analysis of eyewitness evidence provided at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and interviews with international legal scholars and practitioners. In Subproject 3, we assessed how different cultural groups encode, store and retrieve memories, and how memory reports are evaluated in immigration contexts. It involved experiments in which the objective and perceived characteristics of statements provided by witnesses originating from Sub-Saharan Africa were compared to a matched Western control group.
The project integrated analyses of video, document and experimental data to provide insight into culture-dependent variables in eyewitness memory. Our overall conclusion is that rather than striving for ‘cultural competence’, it may be better to practice ‘cultural humility’.
The Beyond WEIRD Witnesses project assessed how culture-dependent variables, such as source attribution and reporting style, influence eyewitness memory. The project addressed two key objectives: (1) develop culturally modulated theory of eyewitness memory and (2) design and test evidence-based interview guidelines.
Subproject 1 examined what happens when police investigators interview eyewitnesses from a different cultural background. It involved the systematic coding of culture-dependent variables in video-recorded police interviews with witnesses of serious crimes in South Africa, a society with many different subcultures. In Subproject 2, we analysed the frequency, nature and legal consequences of culture-dependent variables in international criminal cases. It involved an empirical document analysis of eyewitness evidence provided at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and interviews with international legal scholars and practitioners. In Subproject 3, we assessed how different cultural groups encode, store and retrieve memories, and how memory reports are evaluated in immigration contexts. It involved experiments in which the objective and perceived characteristics of statements provided by witnesses originating from Sub-Saharan Africa were compared to a matched Western control group.
The project integrated analyses of video, document and experimental data to provide insight into culture-dependent variables in eyewitness memory. Our overall conclusion is that rather than striving for ‘cultural competence’, it may be better to practice ‘cultural humility’.
In Subproject 1, we explore the role of culture in South African police interviews. We first organised a focus group with 12 international academic experts and South African cultural informants to identify cultural factors for eyewitness interviews. The insights from this focus group and a critical literature review informed a framework of culture-dependent and intercultural communication factors in cross-cultural interviews. This framework was published in Open Research Europe and served as a basis for the qualitative coding of 100 video-recorded eyewitness interviews conducted by the South African Police Services. The thematic content analysis focused on two research questions explored in two scientific articles, one relating to cultural differences in eyewitness testimony and one relating to cross-cultural communication issues.
In Subproject 2, we examine witness statements at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). We first organised an interdisciplinary expert panel, bringing together experts in the field of international law, legal psychology, anthropology, and clinical psychology, to discuss common cultural challenges that arise during trials in international criminal tribunals. Their insightful discussions resulted in a list of possible culture-dependent variables that may influence different parts of trial proceedings. In addition, we conducted a scoping review of the relevant literature to identify how culture influences testimony, which was published in a scientific journal. Using the outcomes from the expert panel and the scoping review, a coding scheme of culture-dependent variables and their relevant definitions was created. This coding scheme formed the basis for a thematic analysis of 64 transcripts from the ICTR. This analysis is presented in three scientific articles: one on cross-cultural communication in the courtroom, one on coded language and euphemisms, and one on temporal and spatial aspects of testimony.
In Subproject 3, we focus on cultural factors in asylum seeker statements. We first conducted a literature review on the role of culture in asylum credibility assessments, which was published in a scientific journal. We then conducted an eyewitness experiment comparing the performance of 64 participants from sub-Saharan Africa and Western Europe. The findings from this experiment are presented in two scientific articles, one on event recall and one on the identification of persons and objects. To make the findings more applicable to asylum contexts, we conducted a second experiment comparing how 162 participants from urban and rural samples from sub-Saharan Africa and Western Europe report about their home town and about an emotional event they have experienced, with questions comparable to those posed in asylum interviews. The findings are presented in two scientific articles, one on reporting of home town information and one on reporting of emotional events.
Subproject 4 brought together the insights gained in the other subprojects and from the broader literature. We organised an academic-practitioner workshop to provide input on a cross-cultural training programme for investigative interviewers. Combining the input from the workshop, our own research findings, and insights from other disciplines, we developed a two-day training programme on cross-cultural interviewing, which we tested in three sessions with 30 investigators. The findings from this integrative subproject are presented in two scientific articles, one on the qualitative experiences and feedback from the training and one on the outcomes of mock witness interviews pre- and post-training.
In Subproject 2, we examine witness statements at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). We first organised an interdisciplinary expert panel, bringing together experts in the field of international law, legal psychology, anthropology, and clinical psychology, to discuss common cultural challenges that arise during trials in international criminal tribunals. Their insightful discussions resulted in a list of possible culture-dependent variables that may influence different parts of trial proceedings. In addition, we conducted a scoping review of the relevant literature to identify how culture influences testimony, which was published in a scientific journal. Using the outcomes from the expert panel and the scoping review, a coding scheme of culture-dependent variables and their relevant definitions was created. This coding scheme formed the basis for a thematic analysis of 64 transcripts from the ICTR. This analysis is presented in three scientific articles: one on cross-cultural communication in the courtroom, one on coded language and euphemisms, and one on temporal and spatial aspects of testimony.
In Subproject 3, we focus on cultural factors in asylum seeker statements. We first conducted a literature review on the role of culture in asylum credibility assessments, which was published in a scientific journal. We then conducted an eyewitness experiment comparing the performance of 64 participants from sub-Saharan Africa and Western Europe. The findings from this experiment are presented in two scientific articles, one on event recall and one on the identification of persons and objects. To make the findings more applicable to asylum contexts, we conducted a second experiment comparing how 162 participants from urban and rural samples from sub-Saharan Africa and Western Europe report about their home town and about an emotional event they have experienced, with questions comparable to those posed in asylum interviews. The findings are presented in two scientific articles, one on reporting of home town information and one on reporting of emotional events.
Subproject 4 brought together the insights gained in the other subprojects and from the broader literature. We organised an academic-practitioner workshop to provide input on a cross-cultural training programme for investigative interviewers. Combining the input from the workshop, our own research findings, and insights from other disciplines, we developed a two-day training programme on cross-cultural interviewing, which we tested in three sessions with 30 investigators. The findings from this integrative subproject are presented in two scientific articles, one on the qualitative experiences and feedback from the training and one on the outcomes of mock witness interviews pre- and post-training.
This is the first systematic and integrated examination of cultural factors at different stages of the eyewitness journey: witnessing an event, being interviewed by the police, and testifying in court. Perhaps the most important insight arising from the research is that striving for cultural competence may be misguided. Previous research in the medical field has shown that courses on cultural competence can lead professionals to believe that they are ‘competent’ in a certain culture, which may increase stereotyping and reduce openness in listening to the person in front you. Therefore, we now advocate cultural humility instead: recognising one’s own biases, committing to lifelong learning, and engaging openly with others. We adapted the concept of cultural humility from the medical literature and applied it to a two-day training programme for investigators. The experiences and feedback from the 30 investigators who took part in the training programme suggest that this approach may help professionals to adopt a more open attitude and conduct more productive interviews. In addition, we hope the findings from the Beyond WEIRD Witnesses project will help researchers steer away from the present WEIRD bias in legal psychology.