首页
登录
职称英语
Western juries have traditionally found eyewitness testimony to be the most
Western juries have traditionally found eyewitness testimony to be the most
游客
2023-12-27
45
管理
问题
Western juries have traditionally found eyewitness testimony to be the most convincing evidence in criminal trials. Seeing is believing, as the saying goes. In numerous cases, when witnesses pointed to the defendant, his or her fate was sealed. But how reliable is eyewitness testimony? Recent cases have suggested that despite our best intentions, we may unwittingly distort what we perceive.
Artists and psychologists have long known that "seeing" is not a simple matter of recording visual input. People perceive the exterior world through a complex matrix of cultural expectations, personality traits, moods and life experiences. For example, researchers tested the cultural influence on perception by showing a set of optical illusions to various groups, and found that different groups responded in divergent ways. Accustomed to and inundated by perpendicular structures, Western Europeans succumbed easily to illusions based on rectangular lines. On the other hand, the Zulu people of South Africa, whose environment had been comprised almost entirely of circular forms (round houses, doors, etc.) did not fall prey to those linear illusions.
Cultural expectations also influence the selectivity of our seeing. The amount of visual information that exists far exceeds our ability to process it, so we must filter that sensory input into recognizable images. In looking at a face, we do not see elongated ovals set in complex shadows and shading, we see eyes. And that filtering process is informed by what we perceive to be significant, which is influenced by cultural norms. Some cultures may emphasize differences in hair color or texture, others the shape of a nose or mouth, others the set of the eyes.
But it is not only group expectations that color what we see, personality and mood fluctuation can also alter our perceptions. Orderly minds who shun ambiguity will see an off- center image as firmly fixed in the center. The same photograph of four young men allows for shifting interpretations based on our current feeling: a mood of happiness reveals boys enjoying a relaxing day, while anxiety changes the picture to students worrying about exams.
In addition, numerous more prosaic factors affect our ability to record an image accurately. Duration of the encounter, proximity to the subject, lighting, and angle all affect our ability to see, and even stress may further undermine the accuracy of our perceptions.
What will this mean for criminal trials? Juries have often been reluctant to convict without eyewitness identification. Blood samples, fingerprints, and the like do not resonate as deeply with juries as does direct testimony, and frequently require understanding of complex scientific technicalities. But as confidence in eyewitness testimony wanes, such circumstantial evidence may someday replace visual identification as the lynchpin of criminal trials. [br] The primary purpose of the passage is to ______ .
选项
A、raise concerns about the reliability of eyewitness identification
B、disprove the role of culture in influencing perception
C、question the accuracy of juries in criminal trials
D、shed light on the differences between perception and actuality
答案
A
解析
主旨题型通读全文可知本文第一段对西方陪审团制度提出质疑,然后分几部分对之进行解释,最后一段讲由此可能导致的结果(这对刑事案意味着什么呢?);因此本文主旨是A。
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3310993.html
相关试题推荐
我们的目标是让人们在不弄脏墙壁的情况下留下印记。(smear)Ourgoalwastoletpeopleleavetheirtestimony
Freudiantheoryindeedtookwestern20th-centurycivilizationbystorm.How
Freudiantheoryindeedtookwestern20th-centurycivilizationbystorm.How
Freudiantheoryindeedtookwestern20th-centurycivilizationbystorm.How
HealthofficialsinwesternSiberiaaretobegininslaughterofthousandso
HealthofficialsinwesternSiberiaaretobegininslaughterofthousandso
HealthofficialsinwesternSiberiaaretobegininslaughterofthousandso
HealthofficialsinwesternSiberiaaretobegininslaughterofthousandso
HealthofficialsinwesternSiberiaaretobegininslaughterofthousandso
HealthofficialsinwesternSiberiaaretobegininslaughterofthousandso
随机试题
Laurencecameout______inthespeechcontest.A、thethirdB、threeC、thesecond
Itishardlynecessaryformetocitealltheevidenceofthedepressingsta
曾先生,作家,45岁,常常因为写作熬夜,吸烟20年,每日约10支,不饮酒。体查:
Thechangeinthatvillagewasmiraculou
某初产妇,胎儿娩出后不久,突然出现烦躁不安、呛咳、呼吸困难、发绀,心率快而弱,该
下列化合物中不是芳香胺()。
根据《中华人民共和国民法通则》的规定,债权适用()年诉讼时效规定。A.1
求助者:女性,27岁,公司职员。 案例介绍:求助者经常和父母、同事、客户发生矛
A.阿糖胞苷 B.巯嘌呤 C.去氧氟尿苷 D.甲氨蝶呤 E.培美曲塞上述
某企业为增值税小规模纳税人,2020年4月1日购入一台不需要安装即可投入使用的设
最新回复
(
0
)