This research examined the influence of eyewitness identification decisions on participants in the role of police investigators. Undergraduate "investigators" interviewed confederate "witnesses" and then searched a computer database of potential suspects. The database included information on each suspect's physical description, prior criminal record, alibi, and fingerprints. Participants selected a suspect and estimated the probability that the suspect was guilty. Investigators subsequently administered a photo lineup to the witness and re-estimated the suspect's guilt. Investigators were greatly swayed by eyewitness decisions. If the witness identified the suspect probability estimates increased dramatically. If the witness identified an innocent lineup member or rejected the lineup,+ investigators' probability estimates dropped significantly, even when pre-lineup objective evidence (e.g., fingerprints) was strong. Eyewitness decisions similarly influenced investigators' confidence in the witness and willingness to arrest the suspect. Participant-investigators greatly overestimated the amount of information gain provided by eyewitness identifications.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uvic.ca/oai:dspace.library.uvic.ca:1828/450 |
| Date | 10 April 2008 |
| Creators | Dahl, Leora Catherine. |
| Contributors | Lindsay, D. Stephen.|Brimacombe, C. A. Elizabeth. |
| Source Sets | University of Victoria |
| Detected Language | English |
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