NCJ Number
78182
Journal
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology Volume: 14 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1981) Pages: 49-54
Date Published
1981
Length
6 pages
Annotation
The outcome of witness identifications of suspects can be influenced by both memory and nonmemory factors.
Abstract
Context elements -- background, clothing, and actions -- are an integral part of the memory information stored by persons when they perceive an event or object. Instructions issued at identification tests, by contrast, are clearly independent of the memory information stored about the event or object in question. An experiment was conducted which demonstrates that the identification of target persons is affected by the context of the target person and the instructions given witnesses at the time of the identification. A total of 304 undergraduates (subjects) saw a series of slides depicting people wearing certain clothing, doing certain activities, in certain settings. These witnesses were required to pick out these people from another series of slides. In one condition, clothing, activities, and settings of the person were the same as had been seen previously; in the other condition clothing, activity, and settings were changed. One group of witnesses was instructed to minimize false recognitions and the other to maximize recognitions. Both manipulations had a profound effect on performance. Although the importance of accuracy was emphasized to all subjects, the way subjects performed was strongly influenced by their acceptance of the request to minimize false recognitions or maximize identifications. Presenting a new person in an old context increased the frequency of false recognition. A table and eight references are provided.