Efecto del diseño de investigación en la validez de los atributos externos de memoriadel Reality Monitoringcomparación de revisiones meta-analíticas

Resumo

Objective: The effectiveness of Reality Monitoring (RM) to discriminate between memories of perceived and imagined events has been widely examined in forensic setting, although findings are subject to the influence of moderating variables. The type of design used is a potentially moderating variable. Thus, meta-analytic reviews of effect sizes about three types of designs (field studies, high-fidelity laboratory studies, and lowfidelity laboratory studies) were performed and compared. Method: A total of 33 primary studies were identified, of which 134 effect sizes were computed, correcting the effect size for sampling error and criterion unreliability. Results: The results showed that external memory attributes of the RM significantly discerned between memories of perceived and imagined events in both field (į= 0.39) and laboratory studies, whether of high (į = 0.25) or low (į = 0.51) fidelity. Significantly larger effect sizes were observed in studies with low-fidelity designs in comparison with high-fidelity and field studies. Conclusions: The implications of these results for future research designs, the limitations in the validity of the results of studies with low-fidelity designs, and the validity of the RM technique for use in the forensic field are discussed.