Change detection inflates confidence on a subsequent recognition task

Ryan J. Fitzgerald, Chris Oriet, Heather L. Price

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

A face viewed under good encoding conditions is more likely to be remembered than a face viewed under poor encoding conditions. In four experiments we investigated how encoding conditions affected confidence in recognising faces from line-ups. Participants performed a change detection task followed by a recognition task and then rated how confident they were in their recognition accuracy. In the first two experiments the same faces were repeated across trials. In the final two experiments novel faces were used on each trial. Target-present and target-absent line-ups were utilised. In each experiment participants had greater recognition confidence after change detection than after change blindness. The finding that change detection inflates confidence, even for inaccurate recognitions, indicates recognition certainty can be a product of perceived encoding conditions rather than authentic memory strength.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)879-890
JournalMemory
Volume19
Issue number8
Early online date21 Oct 2011
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2011
Externally publishedYes

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