ABSTRACT

Much of the research on the relationship between eyewitness accuracy and eyewitness confidence has concentrated on the circumstances surrounding the first two stages of the eyewitness experience: (a) the initial witnessed event and (b) the collection of evidence between the witnessed event and trial. Examples of studies involving the witnessed event, during which the encoding of the to-be-remembered information occurs, include research on the distinctiveness of the culprit (Brigham, 1990; Mueller, Thompson, & Vogel, 1988), exposure duration (Bothwell, Deffenbacher, & Brigham, 1987; Read, 1995), arousal of the witness (Brigham, Maass, Martinez, & Whittenberger, 1983; Hosch & Bothwell, 1990), and more generally, the optimality of the witnessing conditions (Bothwell, et al., 1987; Lindsay, Read, & Sharma, 1998). As to the numerous studies examining the evidence-collection stage of the witness experience, research foci have included the timing of the confidence testing (see Cutler & Penrod, 1989, for a review), providing feedback about a witness's lineup choice (Luus & Wells, 1994; Wells & Bradfield, 1998), the effects of self-focused attention (Kassin, 1985), comparing choosers—witnesses who make a choice from a lineup—with non-choosers (see Sporer, Penrod, Read, & Cutler, 1995), and repeated postevent questioning of the witness (Shaw, 1996; Shaw & McClure, 1996).