The showup identification procedure: an exploration of systematic biases
Purpose. Showups are common, yet little research has investigated the biasing factors that may influence showup identifications. We investigated the effects of cross-race conditions and clothing bias on showup identification decisions. Additionally, we explored identification decisions made in a sub...
| Authors: | ; |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2014
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| In: |
Legal and criminological psychology
Year: 2014, Volume: 19, Issue: 1, Pages: 54-68 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Summary: | Purpose. Showups are common, yet little research has investigated the biasing factors that may influence showup identifications. We investigated the effects of cross-race conditions and clothing bias on showup identification decisions. Additionally, we explored identification decisions made in a subsequent lineup dependent on race, clothing, and showup-target-presence. Methods. Participants watched a mock crime and were presented with a showup in which suspect race, target-presence, and the clothing worn by the suspect were varied. Following a delay, participants viewed a target-present or -absent lineup and were asked to make a second identification decision. Results. Presentation of the suspect in the clothing worn by the perpetrator increased choosing rates in both own-race and other-race conditions. Despite this, differential patterns of decision response latencies indicated that eyewitnesses may use clothing information differently when making own-race compared to other-race identification decisions. No evidence for an own-race bias in showup identifications was found; however, other-race lineup identifications were less accurate than own-race lineup identifications. Further, participants in own-race and other-race conditions differed in the extent to which they were affected by multiple identification procedures. Viewing an own-race innocent suspect in a showup increased subsequent false lineup identifications, while choosing the innocent suspect from the showup was necessary to increase false lineup identifications in other-race conditions. Conclusions. Different situational factors may affect the identification accuracy of eyewitnesses in own-race and other-race conditions for both showup and lineup procedures. Particular caution is advised when showups are clothing-biased and multiple identification procedures are used. |
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| ISSN: | 2044-8333 |
| DOI: | 10.1111/j.2044-8333.2012.02057.x |