Date of Award
Summer 8-15-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department/Program
Forensic Psychology
Language
English
First Advisor or Mentor
Charles B. Stone
Second Reader
Philip Yanos
Third Advisor
Jennifer Dysart
Abstract
Abstract
Researchers have long understood the contaminating impact that feedback given to an eyewitness regarding their lineup identification has on a host of testimony-relevant retrospective judgments (Steblay et al., 2014; Wells & Bradfield, 1998). This phenomenon-the Post Identification Feedback Effect- has been influential in informing policy that seeks to reduce the number of false identifications and subsequent miscarriages of justice (Dysart et al., 2012). The present study aims to further our understanding and application of the post-identification feedback effect by investigating how a factor specific to the eyewitness, facial recognition ability, may moderate this effect. The present study failed to elicit the post-identification feedback effect despite its strong effects in the existing literature (Wells & Bradfield, 1998; Steblay et al., 2014). Furthermore, our study failed to find any evidence for our central hypothesis: that those who reported higher scores of facial recognition ability displayed any resistance to the post-identification feedback effect. Despite this, our study provides a framework for studying this effect with a larger sample size. Lastly, while not directly tied to our hypotheses, we find evidence that the confidence-accuracy relationship may be extended to other retrospective judgments, giving investigators more tools to analyze the accuracy of eyewitness identifications.
Recommended Citation
Martell, Benjamin, "The Moderating Effect of Facial Recognition Ability on the Post-Identification Feedback Effect" (2026). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/jj_etds/401
