Are old witnesses always poorer witnesses? Identification accuracy, context reinstatement, own-age bias

Abstract

Young adults (16–30 years) and old adults (64–86 years) (N=96) viewed a staged videotaped crime event involving a young and old perpetrator. Prior to viewing either target present (TP) or target absent (TA) line-ups, half the participants received context reinstatement photographs. For the young line-up a significant effect of age group was found with old participants demonstrating poorer performance. However, on the old line-up there was no significant effect of age group. Importantly, a significant beneficial effect of context reinstating photographs existed for participants viewing the old TA line-up. An own-age bias did not exist for either age group in terms of accuracy but young participants were significantly more likely to choose a line-up member from the old line-ups compared to the young line-ups. It was concluded that given certain circumstances it may be possible for old adults to perform at an equivalent level to young adults.