Process versus content in eyewitness metamemory monitoring

Three studies (Ns = 200, 135, and 187 college undergraduates) contrasted pr ocess versus content accounts of eyewitness metamemory monitoring. Subjecti ve vividness, a cue related to memory content, was a better predictor of co nfidence and accuracy than were cues related to the retrieval process. Part icipants who were asked to recall, rather than recognize, event details dis played greater insight into accuracy, primarily because vividness was a mor e valid accuracy cue under recall conditions. Results reinforce the value o f recall-based protocols for eliciting eyewitness testimony and suggest som e specific conditions (e.g., yes-no recognition) under which investigators should be especially cautious in relying on confidence to infer accuracy. I n addition, results point to a general framework for understanding moderati ng effects on eyewitness metamemory accuracy.