Prior description, strategies and confidence in person recognition

Abstract

This research examined the effects of describing a previously presented person on subsequent recognition, as well the strategies used in decision-making and the response confidence. Description did not systematically affect recognition accuracy or the strategies used by subjects. However, confidence interacted with accuracy in such a way that only the non-description group showed higher confidence scores for correct identifications than forincorrectones. Subjects produced a greater number of characteristics in the overall description when their choices were mistaken than when they were correct. Thus, there was some evidence of verbal overshadowing during the recognition test due to prior description. More subjects relied on comparison strategies than on automatic recognition, but the latter increased the probability of a correct choice.