The effect of line-up administrator blindness on the recording of eyewitness identification decisions
Purpose. Line-up administrators’ expectations have been shown to influence eyewitnesses’ identification decisions. Expectations may also influence administrators’ willingness to record witnesses’ decisions as positive identifications. Methods. Single- and double-blind participant administrators pres...
| 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: 69-79 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Summary: | Purpose. Line-up administrators’ expectations have been shown to influence eyewitnesses’ identification decisions. Expectations may also influence administrators’ willingness to record witnesses’ decisions as positive identifications. Methods. Single- and double-blind participant administrators presented a line-up to a confederate witness, who identified either the suspect or a filler. Results. A hierarchical log-linear analysis revealed an interaction effect of blindness and witness choice on participants’ recording of the identification: Single-blind administrators were more likely to record the confederate's choice as a positive identification when the witness chose the suspect (vs. a filler), whereas double-blind administrators’ records were not influenced by the witness's choice. An interaction between blindness and witness choice also emerged for participant administrators’ witness evaluations. Single-blind administrators rated confederates who chose a filler as significantly less credible than those who chose a suspect; double-blind administrators’ ratings were consistent across photo selection. Conclusions. Blindness influenced line-up administrators’ record of line-up outcomes. These results add to the growing body of research supporting the use of double-blind line-up administration. |
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| ISSN: | 2044-8333 |
| DOI: | 10.1111/j.2044-8333.2012.02058.x |
