Inconsistency, omissions, and confidence as indicators of the accuracy of sexual assault victim's recollections
Book Chapter
Fisher, RP, Powell, MB, Dawson, HR. (2021). Inconsistency, omissions, and confidence as indicators of the accuracy of sexual assault victim's recollections
. 133-145. 10.1007/978-3-030-79968-7_10
Fisher, RP, Powell, MB, Dawson, HR. (2021). Inconsistency, omissions, and confidence as indicators of the accuracy of sexual assault victim's recollections
. 133-145. 10.1007/978-3-030-79968-7_10
Often, a complainant's testimony is the central element in proving a sexual assault case, because no other physical evidence exists. The chapter focuses on three behavioral characteristics that decision makers frequently rely upon to question the validity of a complainant's memory: Omissions and inconsistencies in the complainant's testimony, and testimony offered with low confidence. We review the scientific research, which shows that (a) omissions and commission errors can arise from a variety of factors that are unrelated to the quality of the witness's memory, and (b) the conditions that yield high confidence-accuracy relations (identifying an unknown attacker in a one-time assault) often do not apply in sexual assault cases (repeated offenses by a known person). We conclude that decision makers should not make reflexive judgments on the reliability of complainant recollections based on omissions, commission errors, and confidence, but to weigh the totality of evidence in the case.
