Self-Monitoring and Eyewitness Accuracy

Abstract

It was hypothesized that subjects high in self-monitoring (Snyder, 1974) would be more accurate eyewitnesses than their low self-monitoring counterparts. To test this hypothesis, a field experiment was conducted in which 86 clerks (45 males and 41 females) in convenience stores attempted to identify confederates who had been in the stores 2 hours earlier. A significant positive relationship was obtained between self-monitoring and accuracy of identification, r(84) = .51, p <.001. The findings are discussed and potential applications are suggested.