Can metamemory judgements predict the risk of memory contamination for facial descriptions?

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Title: Can metamemory judgements predict the risk of memory contamination for facial descriptions?
Authors: Mojtahedi, Dara (AUTHOR), Williams, Thomas (AUTHOR), Hunt, Danny (AUTHOR), Ioannou, Maria (AUTHOR), Synnott, John (AUTHOR), Tzani, Calli (AUTHOR), van der Kemp, Jasper J. (AUTHOR)
Source: Legal & Criminological Psychology. Feb2026, Vol. 31 Issue 1, p50-63. 14p.
Subjects: Misinformation, Witnesses, Memory bias, Metacognition, Evaluation methodology
Abstract: Purpose: The current study examined the role of eyewitness metamemory in predicting participants' memory accuracy and risk of misinformation acceptance when describing previously encountered faces. Methods: In an online experiment, participants (N = 1036) observed the faces of a female and male target before completing the Eyewitness Metamemory Scale. Participants then encountered descriptions of the targets from previous participants which depending on the experimental condition, either contained misinformation about the target's features or did not include any misinformation. Participants were later asked to describe the targets' facial appearances through free recall and closed questions. Results: A misinformation acceptance effect was observed in closed questions and free recall memory reports of both targets, with a greater effect observed for additory misinformation. Weak predictive associations were observed between metamemory scores and misinformation acceptance, such that greater memory contentment was associated with misinformation acceptance. Additionally, data from the no‐misinformation group suggested that metamemory was unable to predict general recall accuracy for faces. Conclusions: Implications of the findings suggest that post‐event information could potentially mislead witnesses and highlight the need for such risks to be detected during investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Legal & Criminological Psychology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Can metamemory judgements predict the risk of memory contamination for facial descriptions?
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Mojtahedi%2C+Dara%22">Mojtahedi, Dara</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Williams%2C+Thomas%22">Williams, Thomas</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hunt%2C+Danny%22">Hunt, Danny</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ioannou%2C+Maria%22">Ioannou, Maria</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Synnott%2C+John%22">Synnott, John</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Tzani%2C+Calli%22">Tzani, Calli</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22van+der+Kemp%2C+Jasper+J%2E%22">van der Kemp, Jasper J.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Legal+%26+Criminological+Psychology%22">Legal & Criminological Psychology</searchLink>. Feb2026, Vol. 31 Issue 1, p50-63. 14p.
– Name: Subject
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Misinformation%22">Misinformation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Witnesses%22">Witnesses</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Memory+bias%22">Memory bias</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Metacognition%22">Metacognition</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Evaluation+methodology%22">Evaluation methodology</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Purpose: The current study examined the role of eyewitness metamemory in predicting participants' memory accuracy and risk of misinformation acceptance when describing previously encountered faces. Methods: In an online experiment, participants (N = 1036) observed the faces of a female and male target before completing the Eyewitness Metamemory Scale. Participants then encountered descriptions of the targets from previous participants which depending on the experimental condition, either contained misinformation about the target's features or did not include any misinformation. Participants were later asked to describe the targets' facial appearances through free recall and closed questions. Results: A misinformation acceptance effect was observed in closed questions and free recall memory reports of both targets, with a greater effect observed for additory misinformation. Weak predictive associations were observed between metamemory scores and misinformation acceptance, such that greater memory contentment was associated with misinformation acceptance. Additionally, data from the no‐misinformation group suggested that metamemory was unable to predict general recall accuracy for faces. Conclusions: Implications of the findings suggest that post‐event information could potentially mislead witnesses and highlight the need for such risks to be detected during investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Legal & Criminological Psychology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1111/lcrp.12313
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        Text: English
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              Text: Feb2026
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              Y: 2026
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