... essay begins by discussing the impact of stress and high levels of arousal on recall of eyewitnesses. It then reviews evidence suggesting that memory is constructive and that schemas and scripts may lead us to make inferences about situations. Finally, the essay evaluates the theory that post-event information may distort memory. A large body of research (Barton & Warren, 1988; Clifford & Hollin, 1981; Clifford & Scott, 1978; E.F. Loftus & Burns, 1982) suggests that stress may be detrimental to memory, and therefore that memory for the details of unpleasant, stressful events may be less accurate than our memory for the details of neutral events. In a survey on the reliability of eyewitness testimony, Kassin, Ellsworth & Smith (1989) reported that 79% of eyewitness testimony experts agreed that "very high levels of stress impair the accuracy of eyewitness testimony", and 97% agreed that "eyewitnesses have greater difficulty recalling violent events than ...

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