Stress exerts complex effects on eyewitness memory. On the whole, it has a negative effect, but this can be quite variable depending on the level of stress and the aspect of the witnessed event that one is trying to remember. Stress operates similarly in affecting person recognition (i.e., lineup performance) and recall of event details.
Eyewitness research has repeatedly shown that exposure to postevent information can affect a witness’s ability to accurately report details of an originally encoded event. In everyday life, postevent information might be encountered when individuals who have shared the same experience discuss this with one another. Even when each person has witnessed the same event, their
The use of hypnosis to enhance the memory of a witness to a crime often results not only in some additional accurate recall of information about the event but also in the incorporation of additional misinformation into the witness’s memory of the event and a general increase in his or her confidence in the veracity
Police investigators will frequently request that witnesses to a crime provide verbal descriptions of the alleged perpetrator. Such descriptions provide critical information that the police use throughout an investigation, from the identification of possible suspects in the vicinity of the crime, to the selection of photographs for mug books or lineup identification arrays, to the
People who wear a disguise are attempting to conceal their appearance or change how they look. Culprits may wear any of a number of possible disguises for the commission of a crime. For example, a bank robber may wear a ski mask, or dark sunglasses and a knit cap. Changes in facial characteristics may result
A substantial base of laboratory research is now available to aid our understanding of eyewitness identification processes and to support recommendations for lineup reform. However, there are also a limited number of peer-reviewed, published studies that measure eyewitness responses in real police cases. Although few, the studies include large-scale investigations involving a sizable combined sample
This research paper focuses on the degree to which experts and others are persuaded that each of a number of factors influences the accuracy of eyewitness identifications. Supreme Court cases, among them United States v. Amaral (1973) and Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals (1993), have opened avenues of research addressing how the influence of various
When assessing the potential of an eyewitness, among the first things an investigator has to decide is whether or not the witness had an opportunity to observe what took place for a sufficient time. The decision is likely to be influenced by a witness’s assessment of the length and quality of exposure to a perpetrator’s
Across many topics, eyewitness testimony remains a vivacious research area. The American Psychology-Law Society lists more than 1,400 references on the topic from 1883 and 2006. Eyewitness testimony research established roots as a research area in psychology over 100 years ago in Germany. There existed a strong German interest in eyewitness testimony (Sporer, 2006), and
Eyewitness testimony refers to the report of an event provided by someone who observed this event and often involves the recollection of details surrounding a witnessed crime as well as identification of participating offenders. Frequently, eyewitness testimony is the most compelling source of evidence in criminal trials and may be the only evidentiary support that