A case for the benefits of functional-cognitive cross-talk is presented, concerning the relationship between confidence in memory and the associated accuracy. While cognitive theorists have long accepted that confidence and accuracy are typically related, a behavioral explanation was only recently advanced. We argue that had this connection been made earlier, then the applied domain of eyewitness identification research may have earlier reconsidered, the now largely debunked, but once strongly and long-held, idea that an eyewitness’s confidence is at best weakly related to the accuracy of their identification.