Beth Haynes: I remember your face -- the role of confidence in facial memory

Abstract

Face recognition is a skill that we use every day. Can we predict accurately how well we can remember a face or are we overconfident? This is especially critical in a courtroom setting when witness believability is based on their confidence in their memories. I investigated the relationship between how confident people are in their abilities to remember faces compared to their actual ability. Face presentation was varied in both the time shown to subjects and the contrast of the face. It is known that increased contrast increases subject performance and confidence. I studied whether the increase in confidence is appropriate to the change in performance. I investigated whether people can correctly judge the effects contrast has on their memory.