Research article summary (published 30 Aug 2009):

Bayesian rationality in evaluating multiple testimonies: incorporating the role of coherence.

Full Abstract

Routinely in day-to-day life, as well as in formal settings such as the courtroom, people must aggregate information they receive from different sources. One intuitively important but underresearched factor in this context is the degree to which the reports from different sources fit together, that is, their coherence. The authors examine a version of Bayes' theorem that not only includes factors such as prior beliefs and witness reliability, as do other models of information aggregation, but also makes transparent the effect of the coherence of multiple testimonies on the believability of the information. The results suggest that participants are sensitive to all the normatively relevant factors when assessing the believability of a set of witness testimonies. (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

Author information

Author/s: Harris, Adam J L (AJ); Hahn, Ulrike (U);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, Cardiff University, Tower Building, Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3AT, Wales. harrisaj(-atsign-)cardiff.ac.uk

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition (J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Sep; vol 35 (issue 5) : pp 1366-73

Dates: Created 2009/08/18; Completed 2009/10/08;

PMID: 19686030, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 10/8/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adolescent Adult Bayes Theorem Concept Formation - physiology Female Humans Male

Models, Psychological Predictive Value of Tests Problem Solving - physiology Reaction Time Spatial Behavior - physiology Task Performance and Analysis Young Adult

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