Can you explain what perception, attention and memory mean and how perception and attention can influence the accuracy of memories? Can you give me an example of how perception and attention might influence memory?”

rian is a 30-year-old male who was recently shopping in a grocery store when a man with a gun approached the cashier and demanded the contents of the cash register. The man took the contents of the cash register and the police were alerted. The cashier was unable to provide a detailed description of the man. However, Brian was able to provide a detailed description. A man meeting the description Brian provided was arrested close to the grocery store and Brian positively identified this man as the defendant. However, the man had a very good alibi and was later released. No arrest was made in this case. Brian is confused and frustrated with this situation and comes to speak to you about his experience. He asks you the following questions.

1. “The police have told me that I identified the wrong man. They said that sometimes perception is not always accurate; sometimes people aren’t always paying full attention in these sorts of situations. They say that perception and attention can influence the accuracy of memories. I don’t really understand what this means. Can you explain what perception, attention and memory mean and how perception and attention can influence the accuracy of memories? Can you give me an example of how perception and attention might influence memory?”
2. “I am so frustrated – I witnessed this crime with my own eyes. I think my eyewitness testimony should be enough to convict this man of the crime. The police have told me that it is a widely held belief that the testimony of one confident eyewitness should be enough to convict a defendant of a crime, but there are many factors that can influence the accuracy of eyewitness testimonies. I don’t understand why my eyewitness testimony is not enough, can you provide me with some examples of factors that could influence the accuracy of my eyewitness testimony?”
3. “I am so confident that this is the man who committed this crime! The police have told me that it is a widely held belief that memory confidence and memory accuracy are related, but it is not the case. I don’t understand this, what is the relationship between memory confidence and memory accuracy?”