New Insights on Expert Opinion About Eyewitness Memory Research

In this article published in Perspectives on Psychological Science, the authors surveyed 76 experimental psychologists for their opinions on eyewitness memory phenomena. They compared these current expert opinions to expert opinions from the past several decades. They found that experts today share many of the same opinions as experts in the past and have more nuanced thoughts about two issues. Experts in the past endorsed the idea that confidence is weakly related to accuracy, but experts today acknowledge the potential diagnostic value of initial confidence collected from a properly administered lineup. In addition, experts in the past may have favored sequential over simultaneous lineup presentation, but experts today are divided on this issue. This new survey provides important information and context to courts and to other stakeholders of eyewitness research. By Travis M. Seale-Carlisle, Adele Quigley-McBride, Jennifer E. F. Teitcher, William E. Crozier, Chad S. Dodson, and Brandon L. Garrett.