NCJ Number
113546
Journal
Journal of Police Science and Administration Volume: 16 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1988) Pages: 62-69
Date Published
1988
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Photospreads were used in three experiments designed to examine the effects of the pose of the subject and of other factors on a witness's selection of a particular photograph from an array of potential suspects.
Abstract
The experiments also considered the similarity of target and distractor faces, compared sequential and simultaneous photospread presentations, and examined possible biases arising from the nature of the target photograph. The subjects were undergraduate and graduate students at the University of California, Los Angeles. They viewed slides or color videos of an event and then selected the target individual from a photospread presented in various ways. One experiment indicated that a profile view at test led to more accurate performance when the view was also profile at study. Many false identifications occurred when photospreads did not include the target. The experiments were also consistent with previous studies showing that performance may be more accurate when the witness has had a full-face view of the perpetrator during a crime. Tables and 16 references.