Law Students’ Memories of a Crime Scene: Does the Practice of Memorisation and Recitation Matter?

Because memory is inherently reconstructive, individual differences in the accuracy of eyewitnesses’ recollections exist. In the present study, we investigate one source of accuracy, rote rehearsal training (i.e., memorisation and recitation), which is a key aspect of educational and religious practices in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In the study, male and female law students witnessed a staged crime. It consisted of an unknown person of the same gender unexpectedly entering a classroom where the students were in attendance, grabbing the instructor’s bag, and quickly leaving without saying a word. Immediately afterwards, students reported the details of the scene they witnessed as well as their use and views of rote rehearsal. Overall, recollection rates were less than optimal for static details of the perpetrator, but improved for details of actions. Witnesses who rejected misinformation recollected more accurately the perpetrator’s behaviour as well as broad static details, and were more confident in their memories than those who failed to reject misinformation. However, recollection was not associated with any of the performance indices of reliance on rote rehearsal. Discussion focuses on the extent to which this specialised training is practiced and may not be transferable to memory for complex visual scenes.