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Boosting confidence without boosting performance: item strength creates the illusion of source accuracy
D Merika W Sanders1,2, Rosemary A Cowell2, Johanny Castillo2
1Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Memory (Hove, England)
|July 14, 2022
Summary
High confidence in item memory can lead to source memory errors. This study shows strengthening item memory boosts confidence for both correct and incorrect source memories, supporting the decision heuristic account.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Memory Research
Background:
- People often exhibit high confidence in misremembered sources.
- Previous research indicated that strong item memory can increase high-confidence source errors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the decision heuristic account of source memory errors.
- To test if strengthening item memory increases confidence for both correct and incorrect source memories without impairing source memory.
Main Methods:
- Two experiments employed novel item-strengthening manipulations.
- These manipulations aimed to minimize negative impacts on source memory.
Main Results:
- Results replicated previous findings on high-confidence source errors.
- Strengthening item memory boosted confidence in both accurate and inaccurate source memories.
- This occurred without significant source memory impairment.
Conclusions:
- The findings support the decision heuristic account of memory.
- Strong item memories can inflate confidence in source judgments, even when source information is weak.
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