Does the Forensic Filler-Control Method Reduce Examiner Overconfidence? An Experimental Investigation Using Mock Fingerprint Examiners.

ABSTRACT: Examiner overconfidence is a persistent challenge in the field of forensic science, where testimony overstating the validity of forensic techniques has contributed to numerous wrongful convictions. Scholars have proposed a new method for reducing examiner overconfidence (i.e., subjective confidence that exceeds objective accuracy): the forensic filler-control method. The forensic filler-control method, which includes known non-matching "filler" samples alongside the suspect's sample, is theorized to reduce examiner overconfidence through the provision of immediate error feedback to examiners following match judgments on fillers. We conducted two experiments that failed to yield support for this claim. Among both an undergraduate student sample (Experiment 1) and a forensic science student

SUBMITTER: Rath HJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12466420 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature