Table_2_Predicting Accuracy in Eyewitness Testimonies With Memory Retrieval Effort and Confidence.docx

Evaluating eyewitness testimonies has proven a difficult task. Recent research, however, suggests that incorrect memories are more effortful to retrieve than correct memories, and confidence in a memory is based on retrieval effort. We aimed to replicate and extend these findings, adding retrieval latency as a predictor of memory accuracy. Participants watched a film sequence with a staged crime and were interviewed about its content. We then analyzed retrieval effort cues in witness responses. Results showed that incorrect memories included more “effort cues” than correct memories. While correct responses were produced faster than incorrect responses, delays in responses proved a better predictor of accuracy than response latency. Furthermore, participants were more confident in correct than incorrect responses, and the effort cues partially mediated this confidence-accuracy relation. In sum, the results support previous findings of a relationship between memory accuracy and objectively verifiable cues to retrieval effort.

评估目击者证词长期以来被证实是一项极具挑战性的工作。然而近期的研究表明，错误记忆相较于正确记忆更难提取，且个体对记忆的信心基于提取努力（retrieval effort）。本研究旨在复现并拓展上述研究结论，同时将提取潜伏期（retrieval latency）作为记忆准确性的预测指标纳入分析框架。研究参与者观看了一段包含模拟犯罪场景（staged crime）的影视片段，并随后就其内容接受访谈。后续我们对参与者证词中反映提取努力的线索展开了分析。结果显示，错误记忆所包含的"提取努力线索"数量显著多于正确记忆。尽管正确作答的反应时较错误作答更短，但反应延迟相较于提取潜伏期，对记忆准确性的预测效果更佳。此外，参与者对正确记忆的信心程度显著高于错误记忆，且提取努力线索在这一信心与准确性的关联中起到了部分中介作用。综上，本研究结果佐证了此前的研究结论：记忆准确性与可客观验证的提取努力线索之间存在显著关联。