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CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
► Understand the importance of eyewitness testimony in a criminal trial.
► Know the history of psychological research into eyewitness accuracy.
► Know how eyewitness accuracy, perception and memory are related.
KEY TERMS
Unconscious transference Robert Buckhout
Encoding Storage
Retrieval Yerkes-Dodson Law
Estimator variables Cross-Race identification
LECTURE NOTES
Eyewitness Testimony and Accuracy
Historical Perspective
In 1908, In his book On the Witness Stand, Hugo Münsterberg (1908) continued the critical
examination of the relationship between eyewitness certainty and accuracy.
But it was not until the 1970s that cognitive psychologists and social psychologists showed a
heightened interest once again in experimental research of eyewitness testimony and
identification.
In another study, Buckhout arranged for a New York City television station to broadcast a staged
mugging followed by a six-person lineup. Of the 2,145 viewers who called in, nearly 2,000
mistakenly identified the mugger in the lineup.
Over time, Buckhout’s findings have been reaffirmed by studies of mistaken identifications that
contributed to known wrongful convictions.
Perception and Memory
Encoding
The acquisition of information.
Yerkes-Dodson law
Describes the effects of arousal on learning. Under extremely low levels of external stress, a
Storage
The second step in building memory. The experimental psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus
Retrieval
The final stage in the memory process and involves the recall of information from the memory
store.
One study found that language can influence the retrieval of stimulus information. In this study,
subjects were shown a film of an automobile accident and then asked a series of follow-up
Stress
Has been found to affect the accuracy of identification. There has been research to show that
increased violence in videotaped reenactments of crimes leads to decrements in both
identification accuracy and eyewitness recall, but this finding is not true in all cases.
Weapon Effect
The visual attention eyewitnesses give to a perpetrator’s weapon during the course of a crime. It
has customarily been assumed that the attention the eyewitness focuses on the weapon will
reduce his or her ability to later recall details about the perpetrator or to recognize the
Disguise
When criminals use face masks, stockings, hats, and hoods to diminish their facial-feature cues
and reduce the likelihood of accurate recognition.
Intoxication
Much research has shown that alcohol intoxication while witnessing an event is associated with a
lower rate of correct identifications.
Cognitive Interviews
This is an example of a system variable which aids in accurate eyewitness ability.
The interviewer is guided by the interviewee’s pattern of recall rather than adhering to a rigid
protocol or predetermined checklist. The witness is encouraged to focus or concentrate on mental
images of the various parts of the event, such as the suspect’s face. The interviewer exhausts the
content of each image by asking the witness to form an image and then describe it in as much
detail as possible.
Lineups
At its simplest level, a lineup involves placing a suspect among distracters (called fillers or foils)
and asking the eyewitness if he or she can identify the suspect (or target).
Double-Blind Lineup
The person who administers the lineup should not be aware of which lineup member is the
suspect and which members are fillers. This helps to insure that police do not transmit either
covertly or overtly, suggestions as to who they wish the eyewitness to choose.
Types of Presentations and Presentation Bias
Simultaneous Presentation
Here the eyewitness sees the suspect and the foils simultaneously. (In a photo spread, the six
Sequential Presentation
Here the eyewitness compares each member in turn to his or her memory of the perpetrator and,
make a relative judgment in choosing someone from the lineup or photo spread.
Heterogeneity of Lineup (Foil Bias)
Lineups that do not contain heterogeneity are biased.
Size of Lineups
When a lineup contains too few people, it can have deleterious effects on accurate identification.
Instruction Bias
Eyewitness identification and the law
In Neil v. Biggers (1972) and Manson v. Braithwaite (1977) the Supreme Court established five
factors that determine the reliability of an identification:
(1) the witness's opportunity to view the criminal during the crime
Subsequent research has shown that only two of the factors listed in Neil are actually related to
the estimation of the accuracy of identification (opportunity to observe and the length of the
retention interval). However, research has also shown that even these factors are moderated by
other variables, such as race or stress.
United States Attorney General Janet Reno’s Report
In the 1990s, Attorney General Reno commissioned a report based on Barry Scheck and Peter
Among the recommendations adopted by the Justice Department are the following:
1. When obtaining information from the witness(es), the investigating officer should use open-
ended questions (e.g., “What can you tell me about the car?”) and avoid leading questions (e.g.,
“Was the car red?”).
2. The investigator conducting the photo spread or lineup should instruct the witness that the person
3. In composing a photo spread or lineup, the investigator should select fillers who generally fit the
witness’s description of the perpetrator. It would not be fair to create a photo spread or lineup in
4. After conducting an identification procedure, the investigator should record the witness’s own
words regarding how sure he or she is of any identification. This recommendation is based on the
fact that eyewitnesses often express increased confidence in their identifications after they are
told by the police that they picked out the real culprit or after they learn additional information
that implicates the person they identified.
Ameliorative methods to problems associated with eyewitness identification
and lineups
Trial Simulations
Trial simulation have been designed to assess, among other things, juror sensitivity to
Motion to Suppress
Counsel who feel they may be adversely affected by prejudiced evidence resulting from
Expert Witnesses Testimony on Factors Affecting Eyewitness Testimony
An expert witness may testify in court about the factors which affect eyewitness testimony and
Cross-Examination
SUMMARY
This chapter emphasized the importance of eyewitness testimony as a means of
influencing jurors at trial. Despite the tremendous impact that such testimony can have, it is
unfortunately fraught with errors which have resulted in innocent people being sent to prison
or even executed.
Department of Justice recommendations for conducting lineups were presented and
include such factors as asking open-ended questions and informing witnesses that the suspect
may or may not be present in the lineup. Finally, the importance of educating the criminal
justice system to the frailties of eyewitness identification was stressed, as was the need for
implementing positive changes which make it more likely that only the guilty are punished.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Why is eyewitness testimony often considered the most important kind of evidence
next to an actual confession?
2. What parts did Albert Binet and Hugo Munsterberg play in the history of eyewitness
identification issues?
7. What is meant by a “cognitive interview”?
8. What is the “cross-race effect”?
9. What are some of the factors in lineups which determine its effectiveness?
