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Article
Do masked-face lineups facilitate eyewitness identification of a masked individual?
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied
  • Krista D. Manley, Iowa State University
  • Jason C.K. Chan, Iowa State University
  • Gary L. Wells, Iowa State University
Document Type
Article
Publication Version
Accepted Manuscript
Publication Date
12-17-2018
DOI
10.1037/xap0000195
Abstract

Perpetrators often wear disguises like ski masks to hinder subsequent identification by witnesses or law enforcement officials. In criminal cases involving a masked perpetrator, the decision of whether and how to administer a lineup often rests on the investigating officer. To date, no evidence-based recommendations are available for eyewitness identifications of a masked perpetrator. In 4 experiments, we examined lineup identification performance depending on variations in both encoding (studying a full face vs. a partial/masked face) and retrieval conditions (identifying a target from a full-face lineup vs. a partial/masked-face lineup). In addition, we manipulated whether the target was present or absent in the lineup in Experiments 3 and 4. Across all experiments, when participants had encoded a masked face, the masked-face lineup increased identification accuracy relative to the full-face lineup. These data provide preliminary evidence that matching lineup construction to how witnesses originally encoded the perpetrator may enhance the accuracy of eyewitness identifications.

Comments

This article is published as Manley, K. D., Chan, J. C. K., & Wells, G. L. (2018). Do masked-face lineups facilitate eyewitness identification of a masked individual? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied. Advance online publication. Doi: 10.1037/xap0000195 . Posted with permission.

Copyright Owner
American Psychological Association
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Citation Information
Krista D. Manley, Jason C.K. Chan and Gary L. Wells. "Do masked-face lineups facilitate eyewitness identification of a masked individual?" Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied (2018)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/jason_chan/28/