Effects of exposure time and cognitive operations on facial identification accuracy: a meta-analysis of two variables associated with initial memory strength

Abstract

In the present study, we conducted two separate meta-analyses in order to quantify the influence on facial identification accuracy of two variables related to initial memory strength for an unfamiliar face, specifically, length of exposure at the time of encounter and encoding operations as manipulated via stimulus processing instructions. Proportion correct was significantly higher for longer (M 0 0.66) as compared to shorter exposure durations (M 0 0.53) and when participants made social judgments of faces (M 0 0.75) than when they attended to individual facial features (M 0 0.71). The effect of increased exposure time was non-linear, with comparable increases exerting a greater effect for relatively short versus relatively long exposures. Neither substantive nor methodological variables were found to moderate the effect of exposure duration, and only date of publication appeared to moderate the effect of encoding operations. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Sensitizing Potential Jurors to Variations in Eyewitness Evidence Quality Using Counterfactual Thinking

“…These include aspects of the witness, perpetrator, the crime event itself, or intervening events. For example, witnessing crimes under poor lighting conditions (G. Loftus, 2010), for a short amount of time (Bornstein, Deffenbacher, Penrod, & McGorty, 2012), from great distances (Lampinen, Erickson, Moore, & Hittson, 2014), or committed by someone of a different race (Meissner & Brigham, 2001) can greatly reduce identification accuracy. Long delays (or retention intervals) between the crime event and memory test may also weaken eyewitness memory (Deffenbacher, Bornstein, McGorty, & Penrod, 2008;Wheatcroft, Wagstaff, & Manarin, 2015) and, further, increase the risk of exposure to post-event information and suggestion (e.g., media reports and conversations with other witnesses), which may distort witnesses' recollections of their experiences (E. Loftus, 2005).…”

Eyewitness Identification of a "Familiar Stranger": The Influence of Personal Knowledge and Previous Interaction on Recall and Recognition Accuracy

“…These archival results are consistent with a meta-analysis conducted by Bornstein, Deffenbacher, Penrod, and McGorty (2012) on laboratory face recognition and eyewitness studies. The authors examined the influence of exposure duration across 33 independent effect sizes reported in 25 articles.…”

“…However, Bornstein and colleagues (2012) maintain that increasing exposure duration may influence accuracy more so on the shorter end of the spectrum. For example, greatest effects appear when durations are less than 30 seconds, whereas beyond 30 seconds a more substantial difference is required to produce equivalent effects (Bornstein et al, 2012) Overall, results from face recognition and eyewitness identification studies suggest that longer exposure duration may result in increased identification accuracy (Gross & Hayne, 1996;Leippe et al, 1991). Moreover, Burton and colleagues' IAC model (1999), although typically applied to cognitive research, implies that face recognition for familiar faces is more quickly and accurately accomplished due to semantic priming.…”

“…Also, Bornstein and colleagues (2012) reported similar results from their meta-analysis on exposure duration and identification accuracy. Although there were only three studies in which TP and TA lineups were considered separately, taken together results from these studies indicated that longer exposure time is more beneficial for TP than TA lineups (i.e., effect sizes were larger for TP lineups than TA lineups; Bornstein et al, 2012). In one of the only other eyewitness studies known to have measured familiarity, albeit post hoc, Steblay and colleagues (2011) found similar results, although their target-absent lineup also was significant across exposure conditions.…”

Eyewitness memory.

“…Eyewitness scientists play an important role in helping legal decision makers assess eyewitness credibility and even train or prepare potential witnesses (e.g., bank tellers) to exert some control over cognitive processes of attention and encoding ( Bornstein et al, 2012 ). Video-recording of the witness's identifi cation attempt may be helpful in jurors' assessment of eyewitness accuracy ( Reardon & Fisher, 2011 ).…”