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Postidentification Feedback Affects Subsequent Eyewitness Identification Performance
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-17, 10:32 authored by Matthew PalmerMatthew Palmer, Brewer, N, Weber, NEyewitnesses sometimes view more than one lineup during an investigation. We investigated the effects of postidentification feedback following one lineup on responses to a second lineup. Witnesses (N = 621) viewed a mock crime and, later, attempted to identify the culprit from an initial (target-absent) lineup and a second (target-present or target-absent) lineup. Prior to viewing the second lineup, some witnesses received accurate feedback stating that the initial lineup did not contain the culprit. A compound-decision, signal detection approach allowed the effects of feedback on identification responses to be described in terms of differences in discriminability and response bias. For witnesses who made an incorrect foil identification from the initial lineup, feedback (vs. no feedback) was associated with poorer discriminability on the second test. For witnesses who correctly rejected the initial lineup, feedback (vs. no feedback) was associated with greater discriminability on the second test. Only witnesses who received feedback after an initial correct rejection performed at a level comparable with a single-lineup control group, suggesting that an initial identification test can impair, but not enhance, performance on a second test involving the same culprit. From a theoretical perspective, the results are consistent with the idea that the way people use memorial information when making memory decisions is flexible. Analyses of preidentification confidence ratings, obtained in a follow-up study (N = 133), suggested that the effects of feedback on identification performance may have operated via differences in witnesses' metacognitive beliefs. © 2010 American Psychological Association.
History
Publication title
Journal of Experimental Psychology: AppliedVolume
16Issue
4Pagination
387-398ISSN
1076-898XDepartment/School
School of Psychological SciencesPublisher
Amer Psychological AssocPlace of publication
750 First St Ne, Washington, USA, Dc, 20002-4242Rights statement
Copyright 2010 American Psychological AssociationRepository Status
- Restricted