ABSTRACT
This study explored how the format (i.e., question types) and content (i.e., detail types) of interviewers’ questions influence the amount and accuracy of eyewitness accounts depending on their status as victims or bystanders. After watching first- or third-person perspective video scenarios, 461 participants responded to 13 questions, including open-ended, closed-ended, and leading formats, combined with central or peripheral details. Results showed that eyewitness status had no main effect on either the amount or the accuracy of statements they provided. However, victims showed higher accuracy in their statements than bystanders did on questions about peripheral details. Open-ended questions increased both the amount and the accuracy of statements, whereas misleading questions reduced the accuracy of eyewitness statements. Closed-ended questions elicited less information than leading questions. A trade-off between the amount and accuracy of eyewitness information was observed: Questions with central details elicited less but more accurate information than questions with peripheral details.