A re-examination of the effects of biased lineup instructions in eyewitness identification.
A meta-analytic review of research comparing biased and unbiased instructions in eyewitness identification experiments showed an asymmetry, specifically that biased instructions led to a large and consistent decrease in accuracy in target-absent lineups, but produced inconsistent results for target-present lineups, with an average effect size near zero (N. M. Steblay, 1997). The results for target-present lineups are surprising, and are inconsistent with statistical decision theories (i.e., D. M. Green & J. A. Swets, 1966). A re-examination of the relevant studies and the meta-analysis of those studies shows clear evidence that correct identification rates do increase with biased lineup instructions, and that biased witnesses make correct identifications at a rate considerably above chance. Implications for theory, as well as police procedure and policy, are discussed.
Clark
Steven E
SE
Psychology Department, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA. steven.clark@ucr.edu
D015982:Bias; D003415:Crime; D006801:Humans; D035846:Law Enforcement; D011939:Mental Recall; D011582:Psychological Theory; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D017603:Signal Detection, Psychological