Faculty of Human Sciences, Institute of Psychology, University of Osnabrück, Seminarstrasse 20, Osnabrück, Germany.
Law Hum Behav. 2012 Aug;36(4):266-74. doi: 10.1037/h0093966.
Inconsistencies in eyewitness accounts are perceived as indicative of inaccuracy and reduce the witnesses' credibility. Reminiscence, the delayed recall of previously not recalled information, is generally interpreted as a type of inconsistency. Even though it does not necessarily involve the falsity of the statements, reminiscence presents a counterintuitive instance with mostly unknown reliability. Two studies empirically assessed the accuracy of reminiscent items after retention intervals of up to 1 week and contrasted them with peoples' beliefs regarding their accuracy. In line with an implicit assumption of memory fading with the passage of time, delayed recall of previously unmentioned details was judged to be unreliable. In contrast, actual accuracy of reminiscent details was consistently high and even comparable to immediate recollections. Although participants generally underestimated accuracy, it was most pronounced in the case of reminiscence. The findings are discussed within the context of contemporary legal practice, such as jury instructions.
目击者证词中的不一致性被视为不准确的迹象,会降低证人的可信度。回忆是指延迟回忆以前未被回忆起的信息,通常被解释为一种不一致性。尽管回忆不一定涉及陈述的虚假性,但它呈现了一个违反直觉的例子,其可靠性大多未知。两项研究在最长达 1 周的保留间隔后,对回忆的准确性进行了实证评估,并将其与人们对准确性的看法进行了对比。根据记忆随时间流逝而逐渐淡忘的隐含假设,对以前未提及的细节的延迟回忆被判断为不可靠。相比之下,回忆细节的实际准确性始终很高,甚至可与即时回忆相媲美。尽管参与者普遍低估了准确性,但在回忆的情况下最为明显。研究结果在当代法律实践(如陪审团指示)的背景下进行了讨论。