Psychology Crime and Law · 2012 · 43 citations · 41 references
Social SciencesPsychologyCognitive PsychologyExperimental PsychologyMemoryEpisodic MemoryEyewitness MemoryEyewitness TestimonyRecall MemoryWitness TestimonyConfidence InflationCue-based RecallEvent RecallEyewitness Autobiographical RecallEyewitness Memory TestimonyMemory Recall AccuracyMemory Retention IntervalRecall Errors
In legal practice, both confidence and consistency of eyewitness testimony are often used as indicators for accuracy, but their usefulness has been questioned. The present study was designed to determine the relationship between accuracy, confidence and consistency in episodic memory. Participants watched a video of a complex event sequence and were tested at different intervals: one group received an initial recall after one week followed by repeats at three and five weeks, a second group was tested at three and five weeks, and a third group was tested only once at five weeks. Accuracy and confidence fell with longer initial retention intervals, yet repeated recall did not reduce them or inflate confidence, and correlations among accuracy, confidence and consistency ranged from medium to large, while inconsistencies—primarily due to forgetting and reminiscence—were recalled almost as accurately as consistent details.
Abstract In legal practice, both confidence and consistency of the testimony of eyewitnesses are often used as indicators for accuracy, but their usefulness has been questioned. The present study was designed to determine the relationship between accuracy, confidence and consistency in episodic memory. After viewing a video of a complex series of events, one group of participants was given an initial cued recall test after one week, and repeated recall tests after three and five weeks. A second group of participants was tested after three and five weeks, and a third group was tested only once after five weeks. Accuracy and confidence (at least for incorrect answers) decreased with longer initial retention intervals, but there was no decrease in either accuracy or confidence when recall was repeated. Repeated testing also did not lead to confidence inflation. Correlations between accuracy, confidence and consistency varied from medium to large. Inconsistencies were mainly caused by forgetting and reminiscence. These inconsistencies were recalled almost as accurately as consistently recalled information.
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