2 - Wixted: initial eyewitness confidence reliably predicts eyewitness identification accuracy

Question 1

What do these researchers want to investigate?

Answer 1

If confidence expressed by eyewitness during identification is a reliable indicator of their accuracy?

Question 2

What do the researchers find for the relationship between confidence and accuracy of eyewitness?

Answer 2

Low confidence -> low accuracy
high confidence -> high accuracy
-> but only at that of initial identification, not later in court

Question 3

Why should we focus on initial vs later confidence statements?

Answer 3

Because memory is susceptible to distortion through misinformation, feedback, repeated testing
-> this can inflate eyewitness confidence and create false memories

Initial confidence is a more trustworthy indicator of memory accuracy

Question 4

How should eyewitness confidence be treated in the courtroom?

Answer 4

Eyewitness confidence should be evaluated at the time of the initial identification, not during trial

Courtroom confidence is often contaminated and unreliable due to external influences
-> legal system should shift toward emphasising initial eyewitness certainty and disregarding courtroom-inflated confidence

Question 5

What are some recommendations that can be implemented to support initial confidence?

Answer 5

-> Documenting initial confidence judgments
-> Using blind lineup administrators
-> Videotaping the ID process