RT Article
T1 Improving children's performance on photographic line-ups: do the physical properties of a ‘wildcard’ make a difference?
JF Legal and criminological psychology
VO 21
IS 2
SP 358
OP 371
A1 Zajac, Rachel
A2 Jack, Fiona
LA English
YR 2016
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/184695097X
AB Purpose. Children's performance on target-absent photographic line-ups may improve when they have the option of pointing to a wildcard – a photo of a silhouetted figure with a question mark superimposed. We investigated whether the wildcard's physical properties influence its success. Methods. Children (7–11 years, N = 237) briefly saw one of two confederates during a staged event; 1–2 days later, they completed either a target-present or target-absent line-up task. Within each condition, children either saw a wildcard with a plausible silhouette (i.e., consistent with the silhouette of the target), a wildcard with an implausible silhouette (i.e., inconsistent with the silhouette of the target), a wildcard with no silhouette (i.e., a question mark only), or no wildcard. Results. Wildcard condition did not influence children's target-present performance. On target-absent line-ups only the plausible wildcard increased children's accuracy above that of children in the no wildcard control condition. Conclusions. The wildcard may only be successful to the extent that its silhouette is a plausible representation of the target. Possible explanations for this outcome and implications for using wildcards in investigative practice are discussed.
NO Literaturverzeichnis: Seite 368-371
NO Gesehen am 30.05.2023
NO First published: 19 January 2015
K1 Eyewitness identification
K1 photographic line-up
K1 children's eyewitness testimony
K1 representational insight
DO 10.1111/lcrp.12075