THE RELATION OF OUTPUT ORDER AND COMMISSION ERRORS IN FREE-RECALL ANDEYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS

We explored the relation between output order and the likelihood of a commission error in free recall under both laboratory and eyewitness c onditions. In Experiment 1, participants studied a list of 20 unrelate d words and, after a five-minute distracter task, were asked to recall those words. Whereas the items that participants recalled were mostly correct, commission errors were more likely to occur at the end of a participant's output. In Experiment 2, participants viewed a police fi lm depicting an armed robbery. Participants described the perpetrators , their truck, and the sequence of events during the robbery. When des cribing the perpetrators or the truck, commission errors were more lik ely to occur at the end of the output. However, when describing the se quence of events, commission errors were more likely to occur in the m iddle of the output. In Experiment 3, we replicated the finding that c ommission errors are likely to occur at the end of the output order wh en participants are describing people. We speculate on the potential a pplication of this finding and its theoretical underpinnings.