Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Selecting Foils for Identification Lineups: Matching Suspects or Descriptions?

Selecting Foils for Identification Lineups: Matching Suspects or Descriptions? Two experiments directly compare two methods of selecting foils for identification lineups. The suspect-matched method selects foils based on their match to the suspect, whereas the description-matched method selects foils based on their match to the witness’s description of the perpetrator. Theoretical analyses and previous results predict an advantage for description-matched lineups both in terms of correctly identifying the perpetrator and minimizing false identification of innocent suspects. The advantage for description-matched lineups should be particularly pronounced if the foils selected in suspect-matched lineups are too similar to the suspect. In Experiment 1, the lineups were created by trained police officers, and in Experiment 2, the lineups were constructed by undergraduate college students. The results of both experiments showed higher suspect-to-foil similarity for suspect-matched lineups than for description-matched lineups. However, neither experiment showed a difference in correct or false identification rates. Both experiments did, however, show that there may be an advantage for suspect-matched lineups in terms of no-pick and rejection responses. From these results, the endorsement of one method over the other seems premature. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Law and Human Behavior American Psychological Association

Selecting Foils for Identification Lineups: Matching Suspects or Descriptions?

Law and Human Behavior , Volume 24 (2): 28 – Apr 1, 2000

Loading next page...
 
/lp/american-psychological-association/selecting-foils-for-identification-lineups-matching-suspects-or-7IDRmJJ7fr

References (21)

Publisher
American Psychological Association
Copyright
Copyright © 2000 American Psychological Association
ISSN
0147-7307
eISSN
1573-661X
DOI
10.1023/A:1005463020252
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Two experiments directly compare two methods of selecting foils for identification lineups. The suspect-matched method selects foils based on their match to the suspect, whereas the description-matched method selects foils based on their match to the witness’s description of the perpetrator. Theoretical analyses and previous results predict an advantage for description-matched lineups both in terms of correctly identifying the perpetrator and minimizing false identification of innocent suspects. The advantage for description-matched lineups should be particularly pronounced if the foils selected in suspect-matched lineups are too similar to the suspect. In Experiment 1, the lineups were created by trained police officers, and in Experiment 2, the lineups were constructed by undergraduate college students. The results of both experiments showed higher suspect-to-foil similarity for suspect-matched lineups than for description-matched lineups. However, neither experiment showed a difference in correct or false identification rates. Both experiments did, however, show that there may be an advantage for suspect-matched lineups in terms of no-pick and rejection responses. From these results, the endorsement of one method over the other seems premature.

Journal

Law and Human BehaviorAmerican Psychological Association

Published: Apr 1, 2000

There are no references for this article.