The effects of post-identification feedback and age on retrospective eyewitness memory

Two studies examined the effects of post-identification feedback, age, and retention interval on participants' memories and beliefs about memories for a videotaped event, as captured by a store surveillance camera. After viewing the video, they were then asked to identify the suspect from a target-absent photo line-up. After making their identification, some participants were given information suggesting that their identification was correct, while others were given no information about the accuracy of their identification. In both experiments participants who received confirming feedback indicated they were more confident in their identification, paid more attention to the video, and that they were more willing to testify in court than those who received no feedback. The confidence inflation effects of post-identification feedback did not vary with retention interval or age. These results are consistent with a position focusing on accessibility, which suggests that witnesses have little or no retrievable recollection of how sure they were at the time of their identification. Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.