Accuracy and confidence are two things one might think go hand in hand, right? In the world of eyewitness memory confidence about a decision being made does not mean one is correct or accurate. In everyday life false confidence has virtually no consequence, it is simply there to help us remember specific events in a different, often better light. One can imagine how false confidence would be a problem for the testimony of an eyewitness. An example would be the rape case of Jennifer Thompson. When picking her possible perpetrator out of a photo lineup Jennifer took, according to police records, 5 whole minutes to pick out the suspect. After, she was given post identification feedback from the police officer administering the photo lineup. Post identification feed back is simply any feedback given to an eyewitness after an identification is made from either a photo or physical lineup (i.e. "You've been very helpful"). This negatively impacts the memory of a witness giving them confidence in a suspect who may not even be guilty of the crime at hand. If both a physical and photo lineup are administered post identification feedback normally effects the lineup following the first. This is what happened in Jennifer's case. After the photo lineup, where she selected the mug shot of a man police believed was the suspect, Jennifer was given a simultaneous physical lineup following her initial photo lineup. She picked the same man she had identified in the photo lineup, Ronald Cotton. It is highly likely that the feedback she received following her photo lineup influenced this choice. Which ultimately landed Cotton in jail due to mistaken identity for 11 years before released.
References
Smalarz, L., & Wells, G. (2015). Contamination of Eyewitness Self-Reports and the Mistaken-Identification Problem. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 120-124.
References
Smalarz, L., & Wells, G. (2015). Contamination of Eyewitness Self-Reports and the Mistaken-Identification Problem. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 120-124.