Developing a Memory and Decision Model for Eyewitness Identification

在过去的20年里，我们对目击者辨认的理解有了很大的提高。现在有一长串的实证结果被证明是可靠的，并且在潜在的心理机制方面具有启发性。本研究建立在这个基础上，发展了一个统一的记忆和决策过程理论，证人在面对一个阵容时必须做出识别决定，包括决定不做识别。这项研究将使用一个计算机模拟程序，Witness，其中模型的基本假设是数学形式化的。这个模型将被用来激励和解释几个实验的结果，这些实验旨在解决一个基本问题：证人是如何做出识别决定的？实验具体测试了目前纳入模型的决策规则。该模型将适合于仔细协变怀疑和抑制相似性的实验数据；检查可疑匹配和描述匹配的阵容之间的关系；将表演与顺序和同步的阵容进行比较；并研究更具体的证人指示如何影响鉴定。

Our understanding of eyewitness identification has increased considerably in the last 20 years. There is now a long list of empirical results that have been shown to be both reliable and illuminating with respect to the underlying psychological mechanisms. This research builds upon this foundation to develop a unified theory of the memory and decision processes that witnesses use when they are presented with a lineup and must make an identification decision, including the decision to not make an identification. This research will use a computer simulation program, Witness, where the model's fundamental assumptions are formalized mathematically. This model will be used to motivate and interpret the results of several experiments that are designed to address the fundamental question: How do witnesses make identification decisions? The experiments specifically test the decision rule presently incorporated in the model. The model will be fit to data from experiments that carefully covary suspect and foil similarity; examine the relationship between suspect-matched and description-matched lineups; compare showups to sequential and simultaneous lineups; and examine how more specific witness instructions affect identification.