When presented with a lineup, Alexis was able to identify the perpetrator of a robbery she had witnessed. She was not sure of he
r identification at first, but when the investigator mentioned that another witness had also chosen the same suspect, her confidence that she remembered the perpetrator well grew close to 100%. This is an illustration of:
This is an illustration of post-identification feedback effect.
Explanation:
Post-identification feedback effect, as the name suggests, concerns the effect the feedback given to a witness can have on that witness's recollection of people and events. That is, if told that their identification was correct or inaccurate, witnesses may end up distorting their initial identification to conform to the feedback. Notice that Alexis was not sure of her identification of the perpetrator at first. However, she became almost 100% sure once she was told someone else had identified the same man.
