Saccade induced retrieval enhancement, handedness & the retrieval of central & peripheral details in eyewitness memory

Parker, Andrew ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4066-7339, Parkin, Adam ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9796-5607 and Dagnall, Neil ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0657-7604 (2023) Saccade induced retrieval enhancement, handedness & the retrieval of central & peripheral details in eyewitness memory. Journal of Cognitive Enhancement. ISSN 2509-3290

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Abstract

Two experiments are presented that investigated the effects of horizontal saccadic eye movements and handedness on eyewitness memory for central and peripheral information. In both experiments, participants viewed a short video depicting a bank robbery and episodic memory was tested after a short delay. Experiment 1 used recognition memory and found an interaction between eye movement, handedness and type of information recalled. This indicated that eye movements enhanced memory to a greater extent for peripheral information for individuals classified as consistently handed. Experiment 2 used free-recall and found eye movement enhancement effects of similar magnitude for central and peripheral items. A similar pattern of eye movement effects was observed for both consistent and inconsistent-handed individuals. Inconsistent handers also had superior memory overall. The results are discussed in terms of theoretical accounts of eye movement effects and implications for the enhancement of eyewitness memory.