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... > social science subjects > criminology and criminal justice > criminology > law and society > psychology and law > eyewitness memory > optimality hypothesis in eyewitness identification
... > social science subjects > politics and international relations > political science > law and courts > law and society > psychology and law > eyewitness memory > optimality hypothesis in eyewitness identification

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optimality hypothesis in eyewitness identification  

Definition

  • As originally proposed by Kenneth Deffenbacher, the optimality hypothesis states that the likelihood of obtaining statistically reliable positive correlations of witness confidence and accuracy varies directly with the degree of optimality of information-processing conditions present for the witness at stimulus encoding, during memory storage (retention interval), and at memory test. The more nearly ideal the processing conditions are for witnesses, the more they should be able to track accurately the adequacy of their memory performance in overtly expressed confidence ratings. [Source: Encyclopedia of Psychology and Law; Optimality Hypothesis in Eyewitness Identification]

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https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/optimality_hypothesis_in_eyewitness_identification

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