Identification Accuracy of Adolescent Eyewitnesses: The Role of Familiarity and Lineup Procedure

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to examine the role of familiarity and lineup procedure on eyewitness identification accuracy. Familiarity was manipulated wherein adolescent participants (N = 623): (1) met with and directly interacted with a confederate, (2) indirectly interacted with a confederate, or (3) did not meet a confederate, before they viewed a crime video in which the confederate was the perpetrator. Three commonly used lineup procedures (i.e., simultaneous, sequential, and elimination-plus) were used, and the presence of the target also was manipulated. Overall, familiarity and lineup procedure impacted identification accuracy, such that in target-present lineups, witnesses were more likely to make a correct identification when they were more familiar (i.e., had direct interaction) with the perpetrator and the sequential procedure was used. Furthermore, in target-absent lineups, witnesses were more likely to make a correct rejection when they were more familiar (i.e., had direct interaction) with the perpetrator and the simultaneous or elimination-plus procedure was used. Taken together, these findings suggest that familiarity, in terms of having a direct interaction with a perpetrator before the commission of a crime, positively influences identification accuracy. Furthermore, these findings provide new, important information regarding the simultaneous-sequential debate and the utility of commonly used lineup procedures when the witness is familiar with the perpetrator.