This study investigated the effects of repetition, memory, feedback, and hi
ndsight bias on the realism in confidence in answers to, questions on a fil
med kidnapping. In Experiment 1 the participants showed overconfidence in a
ll conditions. In the Repeat condition ('how confident are you now that you
r previous answers are correct') overconfidence was reduced as a consequenc
e of the decrease in confidence in both correct and incorrect answers. Comp
ared with the Repeat condition when the participants received feedback on t
heir answers and were asked to remember their initial confidence, the confi
dence level was higher for correct and lower for incorrect answers. In Expe
riment 2, recalled confidence (the Memory condition) increased compared wit
h the original confidence both for correct and incorrect answers; the effec
t of this was increased overconfidence. The Hindsight condition showed a de
crease in confidence in incorrect answers. The results suggest that a uniqu
e hindsight effect may be more clearly present for incorrect than for corre
ct answers. Our study gives further evidence for the malleability of the re
alism in eyewitness confidence and we discuss both the theoretical and fore
nsic implications of our findings. Copyright (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Lt
d.