PC_Eyewitness: A computerized framework for the administration and practical application of research in eyewitness psychology

Otto H. MacLin, University of Northern Iowa
Christian A. Meissner, Florida International University
Laura A. Zimmerman, University of Texas at El Paso

Abstract

Eyewitness identification evidence is an important aspect of our legal system. Society relies on witnesses to provide identifications of suspects they observed during the commission of a crime. Because a witness has only a mental representation of the individual they observed, law enforcement must rely upon verbal descriptions and identification procedures to document eyewitness evidence. The current paper introduces and details a computer program, referred to as PC_Eyewitness (PCE), which can be used in laboratories to conduct research on eyewitness memory. PCE is a modular program written in Visual Basic 6.0 that allows the researcher to present stimuli to the participants, to conduct distractor tasks, to elicit verbal descriptors regarding a target individual, and to present a lineup for the participant to provide an identification response. To illustrate the versatility of the program, several classic studies in the eyewitness literature are demonstrated in the context of PCE. The program is also shown to have application in the conduct of field research and for use by law enforcement to administer lineups in their everyday practice. PCE is distributed with no cost.