About Those ‘Eyewitness’ Reports . . .
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This is a very common error. “People can often be confident in their memories, but still wrong,” says Daniel Schacter, chairman of the psychology department at Harvard University.
The Tricks Memory Can Play
By Robert Krulwich / ABCNEWS.com
John Doe No. 1, Timothy McVeigh, was quickly Arrested ... But John No. 2 proved elusive.
Memory lapses can be embarrassing or frustrating ... or they can lead to a nationwide manhunt, as in the search for John Doe No. 2 in the days after the Oklahoma City bombing. The FBI later said its sketch was based on a witness's mistaken memory.
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