Write an essay to go with the following abstract:

Eyewitness testimony is an essential form of evidence frequently used in criminal cases. However, there are well-documented issues with the reliability and accuracy of eyewitness accounts. This study examines how limitations in the basic attention process can lead to mistakes in eyewitness memory. Several factors that influence the attention process will be investigated. According to early theories of attention, we have limited cognitive resources and cannot pay full attention to all details simultaneously. Stress and arousal experienced during a crime can further reduce cognitive resources for encoding details into long-term memory. As a result, the witnesses may fail to notice or accurately encode peripheral or less salient details. Moreover, divided attention poses challenges as witnesses try to balance focusing on the perpetrator while remaining aware of their surroundings for safety reasons. Narrowing attention to central aspects comes at the cost of omitting contextual information.

Another consideration is that expectation and prior knowledge shape our perception and interpretation. Witnesses form the narrative of what happened based on the limited information they can process during the stressful event. Later recollection may need clarification on what was observed versus what they inferred or assumed based on this initial narrative. Memory is also malleable and susceptible to updating from post-event information such as discussions with other witnesses or exposure to misinformation in the media or from law enforcement questioning.

This study aims to experimentally manipulate factors like stress, divided attention, and post-event information to demonstrate their effects on eyewitness error rates and consistency. The findings will inform legal practitioners about the fallibility of memory and help identify best practices for eyewitness identification and interrogation to improve the reliability of this critical evidence type.