Cross-Racial/Ethnic Eyewitness Identification: A Field Study

• NCJ Number: 113533
• Journal: Journal of Applied Social Psychology, Part I Volume: 18 Issue: 11 Dated: (September, 1988) Pages: 972-984
• Author(s): S J Platz; H M Hosch
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 13 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: This article was based on a thesis submitted by S.J. Platz to the University of Texas, El Paso in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master's degree.

Annotation

This study uses 3 confederates in 'staged crimes' to test the basic validity of 'own race' bias in eyewitness identification, confidence-accuracy relationship, and relationship between intergroup experience and accuracy. Also tested was the correlation between racial attitudes and accuracy.

Abstract

In replicating an earlier study by Brigham, Maas, Snyder, and Spaulding (1982), the current study used three college age males, one white, one black and one Mexican-American posing as 'customers.' The trio visited 90 convenience stores from 3 to 4 minutes for 5 minute intervals. After a delay of 2 hours 86 convenience store clerks were asked to identify the confederate/customers. Wilcoxon matched pairs signed-rank test showed that clerks were superior at identifying customers of their own racial or ethnic group. For clerks who made an identification, the correlation between the recognition accuracy and confidence in their identification was not significant. The results of this field study paralleled those found in most laboratory experiments of cross-racial/ethnic identification, and demonstrated that Mexican-Americans are subject to the own/other groups identification accuracy phenomenon as well. (Author abstract modified)