NCJ Number
113807
Journal
Law and Human Behavior Volume: 12 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1988) Pages: 323-331
Date Published
1988
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This research employed the mock witness paradigm in two contexts to empirically assess photospreads used to test witnesses in an actual rape case.
Abstract
In the first context, 100 female students of health-related professions were given a description and asked to choose the most likely suspect and to estimate certain gross physical features of the persons depicted in the photospread. In the second context, 65 female undergraduates from an introductory psychology course served as mock witnesses and were asked only to estimate the gross physical features of the persons, thus removing the influence that a description and choice might have on feature estimates. Context was a critical consideration, as mock witnesses appeared to be influenced by the description given and their task of reporting weight estimates. The defendant was chosen by 58 percent in one photospread rated as biased by researchers because it did not contain enough plausible foils. The article recommends that eyewitnesses trying to make an identification from a line-up be given the option of not choosing any line-up member. Tables, photographs, and 13 references. (Author abstract modified)