NCJ Number
88101
Journal
Law and Human Behavior Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Dated: (1983) Pages: 59-65
Date Published
1983
Length
7 pages
Annotation
Two field experiments investigated the impact of postevent information upon eyewitness descriptions of people. In particular, the study examined the effects of information introduced after an event upon witnesses' estimates of weight and age.
Abstract
Informing subjects that a man they had seen had either thrown a heavy object or was a truck driver led to significantly heavier weight estimates than telling them he had run away or was a dancer, respectively. Also, referring to the confederate as either a 'man' or 'young man' led to significant differences in subjects' age estimates. Additional analyses indicated that neither viewing distance nor subject sex was predictive of either general accuracy or susceptibility to bias. These findings imply that police should contact witnesses as quickly as possible to reduce potential bias effect. Police should be careful in what is said prior to a witness, giving a description of a suspect. Study data and 17 references are supplied. (Author abstract modified)