TY - JOUR
T1 - Forgetting the Once-Seen Face
T2 - Estimating the Strength of an Eyewitness's Memory Representation
AU - Deffenbacher, Kenneth A.
AU - Bornstein, Brian H.
AU - McGorty, E. Kiernan
AU - Penrod, Steven D.
PY - 2008/6
Y1 - 2008/6
N2 - The fidelity of an eyewitness's memory representation is an issue of paramount forensic concern. Psychological science has been unable to offer more than vague generalities concerning the relation of retention interval to memory trace strength for the once-seen face. A meta-analysis of 53 facial memory studies produced a highly reliable association (r = .18, d = 0.37) between longer retention intervals and positive forgetting of once-seen faces, an effect equally strong for both face recognition and eyewitness identification studies. W. A. Wickelgren's (1974, 1975, 1977) theory of recognition memory provided statistically satisfactory fits to 11 different empirical forgetting functions. Applied to the results of field studies of eyewitness memory, the theory yields predictions relevant to fact finders' evaluations of eyewitness credibility. A plausible upper limit for witness initial memory strength corresponds to a probability of .67 of being correct on a fair six-person lineup. Furthermore, not only can the percentage of remaining memory strength be determined for any retention interval, but this strength estimate can be translated into an estimated probability of being correct on a fair lineup of a specified size.
AB - The fidelity of an eyewitness's memory representation is an issue of paramount forensic concern. Psychological science has been unable to offer more than vague generalities concerning the relation of retention interval to memory trace strength for the once-seen face. A meta-analysis of 53 facial memory studies produced a highly reliable association (r = .18, d = 0.37) between longer retention intervals and positive forgetting of once-seen faces, an effect equally strong for both face recognition and eyewitness identification studies. W. A. Wickelgren's (1974, 1975, 1977) theory of recognition memory provided statistically satisfactory fits to 11 different empirical forgetting functions. Applied to the results of field studies of eyewitness memory, the theory yields predictions relevant to fact finders' evaluations of eyewitness credibility. A plausible upper limit for witness initial memory strength corresponds to a probability of .67 of being correct on a fair six-person lineup. Furthermore, not only can the percentage of remaining memory strength be determined for any retention interval, but this strength estimate can be translated into an estimated probability of being correct on a fair lineup of a specified size.
KW - eyewitness memory strength
KW - forgetting of faces
KW - retention interval
KW - single-trace fragility theory
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U2 - 10.1037/1076-898X.14.2.139
DO - 10.1037/1076-898X.14.2.139
M3 - Article
C2 - 18590370
AN - SCOPUS:47049126917
SN - 1076-898X
VL - 14
SP - 139
EP - 150
JO - Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied
JF - Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied
IS - 2
ER -