Neurocognitive factors affecting eyewitness memory: analysis of a judicial case

Eyewitness memory is vulnerable to distortions arising both from encoding conditions and from information received after the event. This study analyzes an Argentine judicial case from the perspective of cognitive neuroscience and memory psychology, examining factors that may have compromised the accuracy of eyewitness identifications. Initial and subsequent statements, the characteristics of the identification lineups, and the conditions of exposure to both the event and post-event information were considered. The following factors were identified: a marked increase in confidence between the initial statements and later identifications; potential biases in lineup composition and administration; the presence of a weapon and high levels of stress; possible co-witness contamination; repeated media exposure to the suspects; and potentially suggestive information provided by authority figures. These factors have been associated with alterations in encoding, familiarity, source monitoring, facial recognition, and retrospective confidence. The case illustrates how multiple mechanisms of memory distortion can converge on the same memory representation and increase the risk of erroneous identifications, highlighting the importance of incorporating evidence from memory science into judicial procedures.