Mackenzie Robertson | 2026 I.S. Symposium
Name: Mackenzie Robertson
Title: The Monster Within: The Effects of Stress and Motive Framing on Eyewitness Memory and Judgments of Innocence
Major: Psychology
Advisor: Nathan Foster
Although extensive research has revealed the fallible and reconstructive nature of human memory, especially when exposed to misinformation, eyewitness memory and testimony continue to carry significant legal weight in determining a perpetrator’s guilt or innocence. The current study aimed to replicate and extend Hellmann and Memon’s (2016) findings by examining how both motive framing and stress influence eyewitness memory and judgments of innocence. A total of 128 undergraduate students from the College of ºÚÁÏÉç completed a Qualtrics survey that randomly assigned them to one of four conditions in a 2 (motive framing: internal vs. external) x 2 (stress condition: moderate vs. high) design. Participants’ recognition memory and judgments of innocence were assessed after viewing a 6-minute compilation of scenes from the 2003 film Monster. Results indicated that participants exposed to internal motive framing reported higher perceived guilt and greater sentencing severity for the perpetrator than those exposed to external framing. However, motive framing did not significantly predict recognition memory accuracy. Additionally, stress condition was not a significant predictor of recognition memory or judgments of innocence, nor was the interaction of these two variables. These findings suggest that attributions of a perpetrator’s motives may shape legal judgments even when eyewitness memory remains unaffected.
Posted in Symposium 2026 on May 1, 2026.
