Friday, June 16, 2006

Calibration Trumps Confidence as a Basis for Witness Credibility

Abstract: "Confident witnesses are deemed more credible than unconfident ones, and accurate witnesses are deemed more credible than inaccurate ones. But are those effects independent? Two experiments show that errors in testimony damage the overall credibility of witnesses who were confident about the erroneous testimony more than that of witnesses who were not confident about it. Furthermore, erroneous statements expressed with low confidence can actually enhance credibility. Our interpretation of these results is that people make inferences about source calibration when evaluating testimony and other social communication." Source: Center for the Study of Law and Society Jurisprudence and Social Policy Program. JSP/Center for the Study of Law and Society Faculty Working Papers.

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