A new study suggests closing your eyes could be all it takes to remember key details about a crime.
The study also found building a rapport with witnessed could help them remember key details about what they saw, the University of Surrey reported.
To make their findings the researchers looked at 178 participants in two separate studies. In the first study researchers watched a film that showed an electrician stealing items while on the job. Each participant was then assigned to one of four conditions, having either closed or open eyes, and either having built a rapport with the interviewer or not. They were then asked a series of detailed questions such as what the lettering on the front of the van said. The team found participants who closed their eyes during questioning were 23 percent more likely to answer the questions correctly.
In the second experiment the interviewers asked witnesses about both audio and visual memories. In this test the participants watched a clip in which an elderly man was attacked in his home. The participants who closed their eyes were better able to recall both audio and visual details, whether or not they had built rapport with their interviewer.
In both experiments those who did not build a rapport with their interviewer said they felt less comfortable when they closed their eyes, while those who did not build rapport felt more comfortable when they closed their eyes.
"It is clear from our research that closing the eyes and building rapport help with witness recall," said lead author Robert Nash from the University of Surrey. "Although closing your eyes to remember seems to work whether or not rapport has been built beforehand, our results show that building rapport makes witnesses more at ease with closing their eyes. That in itself is vital if we are to encourage witnesses to use this helpful technique during interviews."
The findings were published in a recent edition of the journal Legal and Criminology Psychology.
